A Different Reality
by Constellations
Summary: AU. Discarded by the Dursleys, Harry's life is completely changed when he is found and adopted by the most unlikely being imaginable.
1. Prologue

**A Different Reality**

By Constellations

Prologue

 It is a well known fact that society, and humanity in general, have the way of underestimating someone down to an art.  Ironically, it is often the people who are overlooked and never given a second glance that make the most impact on things.  They are judged by society as too ordinary or average to make any sort of a difference in our world.  Take Arthur for example.  He was a scrawny stick of a boy who did not amount to much.  Fate of course had other plans.  Many know the story.  The boy grew up to become a legendary king and a wise ruler.  But if you had told anyone who knew Arthur that one day the lad would be one of the most renowned kings of all time, they would have burst out laughing and thought you were touched in the head. 

It just goes to show that humans never do learn much from past examples.  Whole civilizations can be effected by one person, one supposedly insignificant person that everyone overlooked.

In this case it happens to be two, a couple who prided themselves on their normality and perfectly dull life.  They would soon have to make a choice that would impact the balance of things far greater than they could ever imagine.  They were underestimated, however, by a powerful wizard on whom a boy's and in turn the world's fate lay.  The wizard was so sure that the couple would do what he expected, he neglected the slight chance that everything would not go as planned. 

A single action would twist 'what if' into reality. For the Dursleys, it was a quick and easy way to get what they loathed out of their lives as fast as possible.  For the Wizarding World, the future would soon be drastically rearranged.  But most importantly, for Harry Potter, their decision would change his entire life.

--


	2. In Which a Vacation is Interrupted

**Disclaimer: ** I do not own Harry Potter in any way, shape, or form. I only own the plot and any characters who appear that are not apart of the original series.

**A Different Reality **

By Constellations

****

In Which a Vacation Is Interrupted

It was early morning and the sky was still at its blackest. Stars littered the expanse, shining vibrantly against the inky darkness. Only the occasional cricket and the faint rustling of the wind moving through the trees broke the eerie silence that had spread throughout the surrounding countryside.

A dirt road cut through the landscape, winding its way along the rolling hills. The only other sign of a human touch was a small cottage nestled among a grove of trees located several miles from the road.

If one looked closely they would spy a lone figure languidly walking along the road. Cloaked in a long black robe, the form melded with the shadows, making him almost impossible to see.

All that could really be observed about the figure was that he was rather tall and moved with an unnatural grace.

With a slight smile he stopped and looked around him. He was almost beginning to like it here. The silence was refreshing and the fact that he was the only one around for miles was very appealing.

Maybe just this once he would be able to enjoy his vacation in peace. No distractions. No interruptions.

The figure sighed. Like that was ever going to happen. Every time he attempted to take a vacation something would happen that would require his attention. Some people never do accept the fact that they are dead very well. And they would always make a mess of things. He'd given up counting how many times his office had been destroyed centuries ago. Humans always had been a rather rude race.

Don't get him wrong. He liked his job. Of course at first he hadn't been exactly thrilled, but none of the other immortals had wanted the job. So he had been stuck with it and for years after Death had regretted being late for that particular meeting.

It had grown on him over time though. It was rather amusing to watch mortals' reactions when they met. Humans tend to have the funniest expressions on their face when they're in shock.

It was, he felt, reasonably rude for someone to faint while he was talking to them, but being the Grim Reaper, he sometimes had that effect on people.

What really annoyed him, however, was the fact that hardly anyone could recognize him without that stupid guise on. It had been that way ever since that one Halloween night several centuries before. The event had just started to be popular and Feriae, the goddess of holidays, after many futile attempts had finally convinced him to take part.

So he had changed into a skeleton, donned one of his black robes and brought a scythe along for effect. Death thought it had been quite an original costume compared to just wearing a white sheet over his head to look like a sad interpretation of a ghost. He had grudgingly made himself visible at Feriae's request (which is how the whole misunderstanding took place) so he could "fully partake in the nights events" as she had put it.

Some idiot had seen his costume and had come up with the genius idea that that's what Death really looked like (most likely associating the skeleton with death in general). By the next year he had really started to regret not wearing that dumb sheet.

The image by then was firmly stuck in everyone's head and there had been nothing Death could do about how humans thought he looked. Needless to say he never participated in the 'stupid holiday' (as he referred to it) again and had refused to talk with Feriae for three decades.

Death, however, recovered from the incident quite well once he realized that wearing the guise got even better reactions from mortals than before. After all, scaring humans was one of his favorite activities. Though he still favored wearing one of his long black robes, from time to time Death would don the get-up when he was in the mood.

He stood there lost in memories of things long ago until the distant call of an owl jerked him from his thoughts. Looking around he realized that he had been standing along the road longer than he thought. The sky was already starting to lighten to a blue-gray and the stars were but a faint trace in the heavens.

The sound of a car coming up the road to Death's left caused him to turn. Questions flitted through his head as the vehicle came into sight, a gradually increasing spot on the horizon. _What is someone doing out here in the middle of nowhere?_ Glancing at his watch he thought, _It is only 6 in the morning... why are they out so early?_

Not wanting his presence to be noticed, Death turned himself invisible while the car grew closer. By now it was close enough that he was able to make out a large man behind the wheel.

Much to his surprise, the beefy man came to a sudden halt about 5 yards from where Death stood. Nervously looking around, the man got out of the car (which required some effort for one so large) and shuffled over to the passenger's side. Quickly opening the door, he reached inside and roughly pulled out a bundle. With an anxious expression plastered across his face, the man practically dropped the bundle near the side of the road. Taking another glance around him, he got into the car and hastily sped back down the road.

Death had always considered himself to be very well composed. In this case, however, curiosity got the better of him. He cautiously stepped toward the bundle and gently picked it up. What he found almost made him drop it in shock.

It was a baby, a baby boy who could not have been over a year old. Who seemed very familiar as well. Death studied the boy closely. He was small, but then most young children were, and had messy black hair. "Nothing unusual" he murmured, "the boy looks normal except for that lightning bolt mark…" That seemed familiar too, but Death couldn't quite place it.

Absently he traced the line of the boy's scar. Almost immediately he felt a small jolt of magic course through his hand. The boy jerked awake and he found himself staring into bright emerald green orbs. Those eyes… Memories of the night before came crashing back inside his head.

He remembered now. He had gone to the house with a new trainee to show him the ropes so to speak.

It had been another attack by another one of those upstart 'Dark Lords' who kept popping up every century or so. Voldemort, he believed this one to be, but Death never had been good at keeping track of such things, there were just too many of them.

He had left the trainee to deal with the man and had gone upstairs into a bedroom where all the commotion seemed to be coming from. He entered to see a young woman with bright red hair standing defiantly in front of a crib. Surprisingly, she had looked straight at Death and sent a silent plea to him. _Please keep my baby safe… _He had nodded at the woman. He would protect the child. It was not everyday that a mortal could see him when he was invisible. In fact, he could count the number of times it had happened on one hand.

The woman had given Death a grateful smile before turning her attention on the newest Dark Lord. She put up a brave fight, but in the end the man killed her. However, she had died knowing her son would live and that was all that mattered.

Death had cast his protection over the boy and left as Voldemort muttered the killing curse. He had no reason to stay. The boy would live and Voldemort would be in for a nasty shock. The wizards would take of the boy that he had been sure of, or at least he had been at the time.

Now looking at the boy in his arms he wondered what the heck had happened. Not that it did him much good. He wasn't omniscient… he did after all have some limits. But it really did not matter at the moment. The question was what to do with the boy. Death had promised to protect him and he had. However, he had thought that Dumbledore would have done better than place the boy with someone who obviously hadn't a hint of magic about themselves. A plan which obviously had not worked out as well as the old wizard had planned.

After mulling over the situation for a while Death decided to do something that he had never done before. His mind made up, Death situated the baby securely in his arms. It had been a while since he had meddled into wizarding affairs. With a smirk he disappeared with the baby in a blink of an eye. _This was going to be fun…_

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Note:

'''Several centuries beforehand Death had given up trying to deal with everything by himself, Earth had been getting too populated for that anymore. So he'd taken in lesser immortals as assistants to help. (The majority of lesser immortals include pixies, sprites, motes, and brownies.) Several decades ago Death had decided to focus on the training of new assistants and managing the operations, leaving most of the work to his experienced assistants who happily took over. Everyone had been rather happy about the change. His older assistants had been complaining for years about the lack of work (they happened to love their jobs) and Death was glad to finally have time to relax again. All in all, the arrangement suited everyone very well.

Please review and tell me what you think so far… your input, comments, etc are helpful.

_Thank you to everyone who has reviewed, I really appreciated it._


	3. In Which Someone is Lost

**Disclaimer: ** I do not own Harry Potter in any way, shape, or form, nor am I making any money from this story. I only own the plot and any characters who appear that are not apart of the original series.

**A Different Reality**

By Constellations

In Which Someone Is Lost

If someone stepped into Dumbledore's office they would find it looked nothing like what a Headmaster's office should look like. Upon viewing it for the first time people often found themselves in varying degrees of awe and shock. (This of course amused Albus to no end, which was part of the reason the office was decorated the way it was. He had always enjoyed having the upper hand straight off.)

The room itself was of medium size with various painting of landscapes hung along the walls. The sides of the room were lined with shelves of gadgets, some muggle, some magical, and knick knacks from past travels. An oversized wardrobe took up the far right corner, while a large desk with a matching high backed chair was located in the middle of the room.

At the moment, Dumbledore was sitting in the high backed chair with his familiar, Fawkes, using his shoulder as a perch. Fingering a lemon drop, he absently ran through the events of the last two months. A lot had occurred during that span of time. Word of Voldemort's defeat and the Potters deaths had spread quickly through the Wizarding World. The first four days after the initial news, owls could be seen flying every which way at all sorts of hours. (This confused the daylights out of many muggles in the area and was talked about on the news for several days after.)

There had been huge celebrations due to the Wizarding World's new found freedom which took place all over England, much to the Ministry of Magic's dismay. Ministry officials were still working on covering up the numerous signs of magic and odd events caused by overzealous celebrations.

Young Harry had been credited with the Dark Lord's demise and within a week was considered a worldwide hero, quite a feat for only being a little over a year old. Wizarding newspapers and magazines had had the baby's picture with his new scar splashed across the front page and the public had officially dubbed Harry 'The Boy Who Lived'.

On a more serious note, (excuse the pun) Sirius Black had been sentenced to Azkaban for life, charged with the murder of Peter Pettigrew and muggle bystanders. Unfortunately, Albus had been unable to do anything to prevent the young man's imprisonment.

What was weighing the heaviest of his mind, however, was some very disturbing news he had received yesterday from Arbella Figg. It seemed that Harry was no longer living with his relatives. Upon questioning the boy's aunt and uncle under a mild truth spell, Dumbledore had been horrified to find that they had abandoned the baby in the country. Unfortunately Vernon had only been able to give vague descriptions and all searches for the boy had proved fruitless.

Albus sighed and popped the candy into his mouth. A small chime sounded in the room, turning his attention toward the door. _Ah… that would be Severus._ The twinkle in Dumbledore's eyes slightly dimmed as Severus' initial reaction upon hearing of Lily Potters death flashed through his mind. The poor boy had been devastated. The two had been best friends and an unstoppable duo in school ever since first year. Lily had been a Ravenclaw and Severus a Slytherin, but House rivalries had not stopped them from becoming fast friends. Lily had been the sister that Severus had never had and he had likewise been like a brother to her. The red head had also been the only person Albus knew of (besides himself) that had been able to penetrate Severus' cold exterior. She had been his confidant and pillar of strength throughout most of his life.

Severus had holed himself up in his chambers for over a week after hearing about her death and had refused to come out. When he had finally emerged, the man had looked like the living dead. He obviously had not gotten much if any sleep, as the dark circles under his eyes attested to. The vague and distant expressions on his face, so unlike his usual calm prestige and spine chilling glares, scared many students (especially since no one could remember Professor Cyne's assistant acting this way before).

But time, as always, moved on. Days turned into weeks and weeks turned into months as Severus slowly got over Lily's death. It had taken almost two months, but he had finally pulled himself together and was once again his usual ornery self. Albus of course was thrilled that Severus was back to normal, though many students attending Hogwarts did not share his sentiments (Severus' efforts in trying to deduct as many House points as humanly possible had returned in full force with his recovery).

Today had been a good day for Severus. Most of the students had left days ago to spend the Christmas holiday with family and the school for once was relatively quiet. Standing in front of the entrance to Dumbledore's office, he said the password (fiddlesticks) and climbed up the spiral staircase that revealed itself.

Upon seeing Severus pass through the doorway Albus gestured to a candy dish. "Lemon drop?"

Severus grimaced as he sat down in a conjured chair, "Albus you know I hate those things with a passion, why do you even bother?"

"Because there is always the slight chance that you might take one," he replied. "Now as to why I called you here... Professor Cyne had decided to retire from teaching Potions at the end of this year. This of course leaves a vacancy for the position and I was wondering if you would be willing to accept it. Your credentials on the subject are extremely impressive and you are more than qualified for the job♦."

Snape remained silent after Dumbledore made his offer. Weighing the pros and cons, he finally made his decision. "I will take the position Albus, Lord knows you'd find a way to make me if I refused."

Eyes twinkling, Dumbledore smiled an all too familiar smile. "I'm glad you will. The details will be on your desk tomorrow morning." Albus then paused for a moment before continuing with a serious expression. "However, that wasn't the only thing I need to tell you. It has come to my attention that Harry is no longer at the Dursleys."

Concern flashed across Severus' face before it disappeared behind his mask. "Where is he? When did you find out he was missing?"

Albus sighed, "I unfortunately am not sure of his whereabouts…"

"What exactly do you _mean_ that you don't know his whereabouts?" he interrupted.

"As you know I had Arbella stationed on the street to keep an eye on him. However, yesterday she informed me that the boy was no longer there. It seems that the Dursleys abandoned the child in the countryside." said Dumbledore with a sad tone. "I had the Order send out search parties, but no one has been able to find Harry." And with a long pause added, "I thought you ought to know."

Severus sat motionless, letting all the information seep in. _No… this can't be happening! _ He thought. _ I've already lost Lily there is no way I'm going to lose my godson as well…!_ With a determined look on his face he looked Albus in the eye. "I'm going to look for him and there is nothing you can do to stop me."

"I wasn't going to Severus. I hope you have more luck than the rest of us have had," said Albus. "And take as long as you need, I'm sure Cyne can survive without your assistance for a few weeks."

With a quick nod Severus left, giving silent thanks to Dumbledore as he returned to the dungeons in order to prepare for his expedition.

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Notes:

♦Directly after graduating from Hogwarts, Severus had devoted himself on working towards Mastery in Potions. A brilliant student in the art, he spent two and a half years studying from one of the best Potions Masters in the twentieth century. At the age of twenty, Severus received his Mastery and became the youngest Potions Master in over 500 years.

More commonly known as the Order of the Phoenix

_Thank you to everyone who has reviewed…your comments, criticisms, etc are always helpful_


	4. In Which Severus Returns to Hogwarts

**Disclaimer: ** I do not own Harry Potter in any way, shape, or form, nor am I making any money from this story. I do, however, own the plot and any characters that appear in the story that are not apart of the original series.

**A Different Reality**

By Constellations

-In Which Severus Returns to Hogwarts-

_"I wasn't going to Severus. I hope you have more luck than the rest of us have had," said Albus. "And take as long as you need, I'm sure Cyne can survive without your assistance for a few weeks."_

_With a quick nod Severus left, giving silent thanks to Dumbledore as he returned to the dungeons in order to prepare for his expedition_.

§-§-§

Severus Snape had spent the last two weeks searching across the English countryside only to find no trace of the boy. It was almost as if he had vanished into thin air. No one he had talked with had heard of anyone finding a child Harry's age. In frustration, Severus had actually gone to visit the Dursleys himself to try and gain a possible lead that Albus may have missed. But much to his dismay, he hadn't been able to get any straight answers from them. With no leads or clues to follow, he was beginning to give up hope of ever finding the child.

He had spent a few more days looking for any sign of the boy, yet in the end it was of no use. Harry Potter could simply not be found. Dejectedly, Severus gathered up his energy and apparated near Hogwarts' wards.

Walking towards the wards of the castle he felt its ancient magic surround him. The magic was so dense here that at times you could see it lightly shimmer in the air around the ward areas. Presently Severus came to an abrupt halt and found he could go no further. He smiled slightly and rolled his eyes, it was always like this. The castle knew him all too well, but one of its favorite things to do seemed to be making him wonder if it would allow him to enter the grounds or not. As if hearing his thoughts, a faint laughter could be heard in the air as the white swirls of magic circled around him.

The first time this had happened, Severus had been scared out of his wits. It had been the beginning of his fourth year at the time and he had missed to the Hogwarts Express (much to his dismay, though it really hadn't been his fault). Arriving instead, by broomstick, he had been surprised to find that he was stuck mid air. After eventually being freed, a distraught and confused Severus had gone straight to Dumbledore and explained to the Headmaster what had happened to him. Though slightly surprised, Albus had taken it all in stride and had half jokingly, half seriously informed him that Hogwarts must have had taken a liking to him. After explaining to the poor boy what this actually meant, Dumbledore had conjured up a plate of food (Severus had missed the welcoming feast because of the castle's little 'display of affection') and sent him off to the Slytherin dorms.

To say the least, Severus had gotten to know the castle's layout quite well after his fourth year (to the great disappointment and confusion of the Marauders♦). By the time he had graduated from Hogwarts, Severus knew the castle like the back of his hand, which was why he was so talented at finding students wondering around past curfew (This had become something of a hobby for him. He had found during his apprenticeship it was a good way for him to relieve stress.).

Severus was brought back from his thoughts as Hogwarts released its grip, making him stumble slightly as he regained the ability to move. Shaking his head at the castle's antics he made his way slowly up to the fortress. Once inside, Severus made his way straight to his chambers in the lower dungeon regions, which were located several floors below the Potions classroom and Slytherin common room and dorms. Lost in his thoughts he missed the entrance to the chambers. Stopping suddenly mid-step, he corrected himself and back tracked a few meters so that he now stood directly in front of a large wizarding portrait of Hogwarts grounds with Salazar Slytherin in the foreground.

The picture happened to be one of his favorites since he had attended Hogwarts as a student. He had discovered it in an abandoned room filled with old paintings while trying to escape from Black and Potter. Albus had kindly let him use the picture to guard his chambers upon returning to Hogwarts as a Potions Apprentice.

"Severus, do you plan on entering or are you just going to stand there admiring the scenery?" the portrait of Slytherin drawled.

Startled, he snapped his head towards the Founder and glared at him. "Siege Perilous."

"Fine, be that way… What has you in such a bad mood?" asked Salazar. "How did that 'quest' of yours go by the way? Any luck?"

Severus shot another piercing glare at the portrait. But since there isn't much that flusters portraits in the first place, the threatening glare did little good. Seeing that his glare wasn't getting him anywhere Severus demanded to be let in.

"Fine, fine … I'll take that as a no then," said the Founder as the portrait opened, revealing a slit of the chambers it guarded.

Refusing to respond, he swept through the doorway and closed the portrait entrance swiftly behind him. Finally alone in the seclusion of his chambers, Severus let out a sigh and sank into his forest green armchair. Thoughts of all the 'what ifs' surrounding Harry's disappearance swirled inside his head as he stared blankly into the roaring fire. Conjuring an old bottle of red wine, he poured himself a glass and raised it to his lips, ready to drown away his sorrows when suddenly…

"You really shouldn't drink that you know… you and alcohol never have mixed well…plus it's bad for your liver." drawled a voice from out of the shadows.

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Notes:

♦Severus had born the brunt of the Marauders' tricks, pranks, and overall mischievousness the previous three years. After 'the incident' at the beginning of his fourth year, however, the castle helped him quite a few times to escape from the Marauders' plotting. Severus' sudden evasiveness and knowledge of the castle's layout confused them to no end, James in particular. This, among other things, was one of the key motivations for the creation of the Marauders Map… which is another story entirely that involved many long hours put in by Remus Lupin, and some effort by the other three (Lily also happened to be dragged into the project towards the final stages of completion since she was the top of their year in Charms (Of course the only reason she did it was so that James Potter would stop nagging her about it… but that's besides the point).

_And of course…thank you to everyone who has reviewed…your comments, criticisms, etc are always helpful (and appreciated!)_


	5. In Which Someone is Found

**Disclaimer: ** I do not own Harry Potter in any way, shape, or form, nor am I making any money from this story. I do, however, own the plot and any characters that appear in the story that are not apart of the original series.

**A Different Reality**

By Constellations

-In Which Someone Is Found-

_Finally alone in the seclusion of his chambers, Severus let out a sigh and sank into his forest green armchair. Thoughts of all the 'what ifs' surrounding Harry's disappearing swirled inside his head as he stared blanking into the roaring fire. Conjuring an old bottle of red wine, he poured himself a glass and raised it to his lips, ready to drown away his sorrows when suddenly…_

_"You really shouldn't drink that you know… you and alcohol never have mixed well…plus it's bad for your liver." drawled a voice from out of the shadows._

_§-§-§_

There was a brief moment of silence before the sound of shattering glass filled the chambers. Ignoring the now broken glass of wine, (which happened to be seeping into the carpet) a very surprised and slightly annoyed (he never did like being interrupted, no matter whom it was) Severus turned to face the far corner of the room.

"You could reveal yourself you know… it's always nice to be able to visually see who you're speaking to."

"Hmm… you're right I could, but it's so much fun being invisible instead," countered the voice.

Severus rolled his eyes, "What are you doing here?"

Indignantly the voice replied, "Can't I just come to chat?"

"You never come 'just to chat' as you put it, there's always a motive. What's the real reason?" asked Severus.

The figure slowly melted away from the shadows, revealing its form, and conjured a black chair opposite of Snape. Death smiled for a moment, then grew serious.

"True. The reason for my visit pertains to a certain letter I sent to you around a month ago…"

Severus interrupted, "But I haven't received any owls for months."

Slightly annoyed, Death retorted, "Stop interrupting. I didn't send it by owl anyway; I hate those blasted things… I never have understood why you wizards use them when there are plenty of perfectly good 'sending' spells."

"I'm not going to get into that discussion with you again."

Death smirked, "You just don't want to _lose_ _again_."

In order to avoid an argument, Severus diverted the subject back to the letter. "Why is the letter so important? And if it's as important as you're implying by visiting me on the matter, why did you take so long to come?"

Death hesitated for a moment, thinking of what to say, before responding, "I sent the letter to you after a revelation I had. But everything will make a lot more sense if I just start at the very beginning. Everything began several months ago on Halloween. That night I was breaking in one of my new trainees and showing him some of the 'ropes' so to speak. At the last house of the night, I came across a rather brave red-headed lady who pleaded with me to save her baby. So I did. Early the next morning, at the start of my vacation, I discovered the boy I had rescued along the side of the road. Eventually I decided to take him home, which is why I have been rather busy."

Here Death paused and took the time to study Severus' face, searching to see if he had caught on yet (Not that he doubted the boy's intelligence mind you, but Severus could be rather dense sometimes). But though he looked to be in deep thought, it was obvious that the pieces of the puzzle hadn't connected yet.

Continuing on he added, "A little over a month ago I finally realized who exactly the red head was. I had heard quite a great deal about her from you of course, but strangely I had never seen a picture of her, which is why it took me such a long time to place her. "

Severus looked up suddenly and Death could almost see the pieces fall into place. "Lily," he whispered.

The man took a long pause. "Harry has been with you then," he stated.

Death nodded slightly, "He has. Aria has had her hands full taking care of a little one again; she would never admit it though. You know what she's like."

A grin spread across Severus' face, "She's been loving every minute of it I'm sure."

"Of course." A long lull of silence fell over the pair before the immortal hesitantly asked, "You're not interested in taking in the boy are you?"

Shocked at the question, Severus looked questionably at Death and arched his eyebrow. "I've thought about that possibility for a great deal actually. However, with me starting full time as the Potions Professor, I truthfully wouldn't have the time. And though I am his godfather, I do not believe I would be the right person to raise him. Why do you ask?"

"I want to adopt Harry," Death answered, "I grown very fond of him these last few months you see, but I wanted to make sure you did not mind. You _are_ his guardian after all since his parents are dead and that Black fellow is locked up in the wizarding prison of yours."

Stunned, Snape took a minute to fully register what he heard before chuckling. "I've never hear you sound so sincere before."

Death shot him a glare.

Unfazed (he'd been subjected to Death's glare too many times for it to affect him anymore), Severus smiled, "You have been like a second father to me, and I can think of no one better to raise Harry."

---------§

-Thank you to everyone who has reviewed. I really appreciate your comments, criticisms, etc.

_Please tell me what you think_


	6. In Which Much Talking Ensues

**Disclaimer: ** I do not own Harry Potter in any way, shape, or form, nor am I making any money from this story. I do, however, own the plot and any characters that appear in the story that are not apart of the original series.

**A Different Reality**

By Constellations

-In Which Much Talking Ensues-

_"I want to adopt Harry," Death answered, "I grown very fond of him these last few months you see, but I wanted to make sure you did not mind. You are his guardian after all since his parents are dead and that Black fellow is locked up in the wizarding prison of yours."_

_Stunned, Snape took a minute to fully register what he heard before chuckling. "I've never hear you sound so sincere before."_

_Death shot him a glare._

_Unfazed (he'd been subjected to Death's glare too many times for it to affect him anymore), Severus smiled, "You have been like a second father to me, and I can think of no one better to raise Harry."_

-§

Several hours later…

After deciding what was to be done with Harry, they'd had a nice chat about the many idiocies of the Wizarding World (a topic that came up quite often), argued over the advantages of pixies over house elves, and decided when Severus was coming to visit Death over the summer. It had been a long time since they had been able to sit down and talk and both of them enjoyed the exchange very much. But, as always, good things come to an end and after several hours of discussion, Death bid him farewell telling him to "get some rest… you look terrible" and to "not touch the liquor."

That was over an hour ago and all Severus wanted to do now was sleep.

Sitting in his comfortable forest green chair, Severus stared sullenly at the broken glass littering the floor. He really ought to clean it up, but he didn't feel like doing much of anything at the moment. The countless days of searching and little sleep over the past several weeks were beginning to take their toll and sleep was becoming oh so appealing.

Severus had a habit of wearing himself out during a mission. His body had the unusually ability of being able to sustain itself on little if any sleep for days, but he often pushed himself too far trying to complete the task he needed to do (Severus was extremely stubborn over things like this and hated leaving something unfinished). He'd been chided over this habit many times by Madam Pomfrey (though he never did listen to her pleas to not push himself too hard).

Unfortunately as tired as he was, Dumbledore would want him to check in before he drifted off to sleep and the last thing he wanted was for Dumbledore to call another search party. The first (and only) time this had happened was when he had returned to Hogwarts particularly worn out (during these times he was known to sleep for days afterwards in order to recoup) and had had fallen asleep in one of the lesser inhabited regions of the dungeons while attempting to return to his quarters. Dumbledore had of course noticed that he had reentered the wards and became rather worried when Severus had not come to report. Needless to say, he considered the whole episode that followed rather embarrassing and refused to have a repeat of the situation.

Knowing sleep would have to wait he sighed. Eying the shards of broken glass once more, he took out his wand, and muttered a quick '_reparo'_, carefully inspecting the glass once the spell was finished to make sure it looked exactly as it did before (which it did). Thanking the stars the glass was no worse for wear, (it _was_ rather expensive) Severus slowly eased his way out of the chair. Downing a Pepper-Up potion to tide him over, he glanced longingly towards his bedroom before heading towards Dumbledore's office.

Slightly annoyed from lack of sleep, Severus moodily walked along the corridor, his cloak billowing behind him. Students scattered before him as he moved along, anxious to get to their next classes and be out of his way. No one wanted to be the one to get in his path when he was like this. The last person who had, had gotten over 50 points deducted from their house and still hadn't fully recovered from being fixed with the full extent of Severus Snape's deadly glare; which was why many of the students avoided him like the plague if possible when he was in one of his moods (These moods can be fairly accurately identified by analyzing the severity of his glare and the billowing of his robes). Luck, however, was not with a small third year Hufflepuff who was unfortunately unable to get out of Severus' path in time…

Seventy points later, a much happier Severus stood in front of the gargoyle guarding Dumbledore's office. Pausing to briefly study the stone figure, he said the password and waited for the hidden stairway to appear. Nothing happened. His annoyance starting to return Severus restated the password. "Fiddlesticks." Again nothing.

"I am afraid that is no longer the password and I am unable to give you entrance," said a gravelly voice.

Startled, Severus stared at the now life like gargoyle in slight shock. He hadn't known it could do that. "What do you mean you cannot let me enter?" He asked threateningly.

The stone figure eyed Severus disdainfully and sniffed. "You don't have the right password… you don't enter… surely even a simpleton like you could understand _that_."

If looks could kill, the statue would have been dead thrice over. As it was it took all of Severus' control to not blast the insufferable gargoyle to pieces. "Fine," he growled out, "I'll just do it the hard way." Focusing his concentration on the castle's magic, he asked for passage into Dumbledore's office. Almost immediately the castle granted his wish and the gargoyle (much to its indignation) moved aside to reveal the spiral staircase. Shooting one more glare at the statue, Severus sent a silent thanks to the castle before making his way up the stair.

§-§-§

Dumbledore smiled as Severus entered the room muttering darkly about obnoxious gargoyles, it was good to see the young man was his usually ornery self. He must have good news. "Lemon drop, Severus?" The man glared. Shrugging, Albus took one for himself, savoring the candy's sour flavor as Severus sat down in front of him. "Do you have any news of the boy?"

Severus took a long pause before replying, trying to thinking of what exactly he should tell Dumbledore. "I was not successful in finding the boy in my search, however, a good friend of mine contacted me soon after I arrived back at the school and I have discovered that Harry has been safely residing in his care these past several months."

Relief washed over Dumbledore as he listened to what Severus had to say and motioned him to continue.

Staring hard at Albus for a moment he spoke. "The last several weeks I have been thinking quite a bit about Harry and his future. Teaching Potions has always been a dream of mine, but with my new position here at Hogwarts I am afraid I won't be able to devote the time necessary in raising my godson." Drawing a breath, he went on, "My dear friend, Mr. Daemon Morte has asked for my permission to adopt Harry… and after careful thought and consideration I have decided to grant his request."

Shocked at how things were unfolding Dumbledore remained silent as he processed everything Severus had said. After a while he finally answered, "Harry is your godson and as such you are his legal guardian. I will not interfere with your decision." Eyes narrowing slightly he asked, "But I need to know… can this friend of yours be trusted?"

"I trust him with my life." Severus replied fiercely.

Seeing the honesty displayed on the young man's face, the twinkle returned to Albus' eyes. "It's settled then. Not many have gained such respect from you. But I do have one more question…"

Severus raised an eyebrow.

Dumbledore smiled, "He _will_ be attending Hogwarts…" He asked, trailing off.

Severus gave Albus a look and smirked.

"What do you think?" He asked sarcastically.

----------§

Please review and tell me what you think so far… your input, comments, etc are helpful.

-

**As a note…**

The father/mentor relationship between Severus Snape and Death will be explained in future chapters to come…

- Many thanks to my wonderful friend and beta… Ashley

_To all of you who reviewed… thank you **very** much!_

Andromeda Snape-Malfoy – thank you for pointing out the chapter switch ups, I had no idea they'd gotten messed up (they're fixed now).


	7. In Which Severus Makes a Visit

**Disclaimer: ** I do not own Harry Potter in any way, shape, or form, nor am I making any money from this story. I do, however, own the plot and any characters that appear in the story that are not apart of the original series.

**A Different Reality**

By Constellations

-In Which Severus Makes a Visit-

The next three years slipped by as Severus delved into his new position at Hogwarts. Though many students simply couldn't comprehend or appreciate the subtle art of potion making, there were a few who truly understood… and they were enough to make teaching worthwhile. And of course as an added bonus, he now had more opportunities than ever to take away House points. One of his major goals was to surpass Lydia Sarbeck, a 19th century Transfiguration professor, who held the record for taking the most House points (And the way he was heading, he could easily reach that goal).

But as entertaining as terrorizing students could be, Severus found that come holidays, he was just as anxious as the students to return home.

It was the middle of Severus' third year of teaching and today was the last day before Christmas holidays. Everyone's spirits were high (even Severus was in a better mood at the prospect of visiting his old home again) as they finished up their classes and clambered into the Great Hall for the Christmas feast.

Dumbledore had really outdone himself this year. The Hall was decked out with festive decorations and dripping in magical ice and snow, transforming the Great Hall into a winter wonderland. Carols played softly in the background and even the suspended candles were decorated with twigs of holly.

Taking his customary place at the head table, Severus smirked as shouts of indignation and dismay suddenly filled the Great Hall. Some one must have placed mistletoe at the doorway _again_. The prank had been overused for decades and rather cliché but the effects however… Unlike regular mistletoe, when coupled with a charm this particular strain rendered unsuspecting people immobile until they kissed. Juvenile, but the results were amusing. Thankfully, for everyone's sake, its magical properties only became active during the Christmas season.

The rest of the feast progressed with little mishap and the students were soon herded back to their respective dormitories, eager for their departures the following morning.

Severus had had a decent time during the feast and after having a surprisingly entertaining conversation with Minerva McGonagall (it seemed she and Albus were the only members of the staff who would willingly sit beside him) discussing recent events; Severus bid her and Albus goodnight (adding a 'Merry Christmas' just to see their reaction). That said, he then left the Great Hall and leisurely walked down to the lower dungeons, leaving a stunned McGonagall and an amused Dumbledore in his wake.

Perplexed, Minerva turned to Dumbledore and asked, "Is he alright Albus? I could have sworn I almost saw Severus _smile_."

Dumbledore only smiled and left her to her musings as he made his way up to his office, humming what suspiciously sounded like 'Its Beginning to Look a lot Like Christmas...'

§-§-§

Exhausted from the trip♦, Severus stood in front of his old home and smiled slightly, taking in its appearance. When one thinks of Death's abode, they usually picture something dark and foreboding usually resembling a castle of some sort. However, as usual, they would be wrong in this thinking. Death had no idea how _that_ particular rumor had come about, but leave it to the human imagination to think of something so ridiculous… for they were the only ones gullible enough to actually believe it.

None the less, it was a very odd house, with a total of three stories (not including the Tower, as Death fondly called it, which was a perfect place to star gaze) and was colored various shades of dark blue and whites, with silver gray trim on the edges. Though that in itself was not odd, the architecture most definitely was.

The best way to describe it was to imagine the many types of architecture that had surfaced throughout the centuries and to picture them all thrown together. He was very fond of architecture⌂ and over the centuries he had added many additions based on the newest design. It made for an unusual look, but Death seemed to like it and the house did seem to leave a distinct impression upon all who viewed it, which was probably part of the reason why Death had it the way it was.

Emerging from his thoughts, Severus readjusted his grip on his bag and walked under the Roman style columns to the door. As he approached the door, it swung open to reveal the familiar sight of a large twisting stair case (reaching both the second and third floors) and a room done in various shades of blues, some nearly white to blue black.

"Finally… I was wondering when you were going to arrive," drawled the voice as Death materialized beside him.

Severus smiled. "It's good to be home."

"It's nice to have you back. I'll have you know Harry's been bouncing off the walls all day because of you. Nearly ran myself ragged trying to keep up after him," Death paused before continuing, "He's missed you..."

The sound of excited footfalls interrupted Death as yells of 'You're here! You're here!' echoed through the house, announcing the four year olds' presence as he rushed down the stairs to greet his godfather. "I would have never guessed." Severus replied sarcastically as Harry enveloped him in a bone crushing hug.

-----§

**Notes:**

♦The house was located on an entirely different plane than that of the mortal world and was impossible to reach unless you knew where you were going. Even then, it took a lot of energy and power to travel through planes like Severus had just done (nothing he couldn't handle, mind you, but it was on the whole a rather draining experience), especially without a guide. Unfortunately, good guides were hard to come by nowadays, so he had had to make the trip on his own.

⌂It was one of the few hobbies that he had continued throughout the centuries and it kept him occupied. Unfortunately, his projects never were able to keep him occupied for long… it only took him several days to finish an addition and that was because he paid strict attention to details (He hated when other immortals just waved their hands to build what they desired… architecture was an art and not something to be sloppily accomplished).

--§

**- A round of applause to my marvelous beta (and best friend) Ashley… who is an expert at finding mistakes I've written.**

.

****

Please review and tell me what you think so far… your input, comments, etc are helpful (and always appreciated).

.

_A big thank you to all my reviewers..._

Starangel12106

Risi – Yes Harry will be attending Hogwarts...

Hakkai - Gojyo - Goku – Sanzo

Brenna8

Alisu – I'm glad you like it. The idea of using Death as a character did originate from reading a Discworld novel, but all likeness hopefully stops there.

K

HecateDeMort

Sabrina451

N0b0dy's ang31

Fiery Phoenix – Harry's time at Hogwarts will definitely be interesting, to say the least

Kaaera – Hmm you're guess was pretty close. Daemon was not intentional, I just happen to like the forms of that name. But Morte does mean death in Italian.

Gaul1 – thanks for the encouragement

Bourne-shadow-childe

Stormyronin

Slimpun

JE aka Yessina – thank you… and Severus will be playing a pretty large role in Harry's life, though more so after he starts to attend Hogwarts

Rarity88 – I'm glad you're enjoying it.


	8. In Which Holidays Pass

**Disclaimer: ** I do not own Harry Potter in any way, shape, or form, nor am I making any money from this story. I do, however, own the plot and any characters that appear in the story that are not apart of the original series.

**A Different Reality**

By Constellations

-In Which Holidays Pass-

_The sound of excited footfalls interrupted Death as yells of 'You're here! You're here!' echoed through the house, announcing the four year olds' presence as he rushed down the stairs to greet his godfather. "I would have never guessed." Severus replied sarcastically as Harry enveloped him in a bone crushing hug. _

--§

It is often said that time flies when you are having fun and if it is so then time practically leapt by for Severus. He had fallen quickly into a pattern during vacation, spending evenings with Death having fireside chats after Harry retired for the night, leaving most of the morning and afternoon to be spent with Harry, who followed him around like a second shadow; playing, exploring, and asking all sorts of questions…

Harry ran along the garden path to the lily pond and stopped along the water's edge, waiting for Severus to catch up.

"Severus?" asked the young boy when Severus reached his side.

"Hmm?"

"Why can birds fly, but we can't?" Harry said, pointing to some birds flying overhead.

"Well, I suppose because they have wings and bodies designed for flight and we don't."

"Why don't we have wings?"

Severus took a seat on a near by rock and watched his godson stare glumly up at the sky. "Because we were not born with them and are not fated to have them." He paused for a moment to pluck a smooth pebble from the pond's bank, and fingered it lightly, before skipping it out across the surface of the water. "But there are other ways to fly you know."

Confused Harry looked questioningly at his godfather. "Like what?"

"Well, you could fly in one of those airplane contraptions like muggles do. Can you think of another way?"

Harry scrunched up his face in concentration as he thought about the question. "Magic!" He burst out with a smile.

Severus grinned, "That's right. There are many ways to fly using magic, though the most familiar ones are by broom and well known spells. Brooms, of course, are more reliable than most spells, which is why witches and wizards use them the most.

Seemingly satisfied with his answer, Harry picked up a stone and tried to copy what Severus had done before. Throwing out across the pond, the young boy frowned as the pebble made a resounding plunk and sunk to the bottom. Slightly frustrated Harry turned to him and asked, "How did you make your rock jump like that before?"

"It's all in the wrist," Severus answered. "It's time for us to head in. How about I show you how it's done after lunch?

Glancing once more at the pond, Harry nodded and reached up to grab a hold of his godfather's hand. And so the two walked slowly through the garden towards the house.

"Severus, how can fish stay under water so long?"

Snape smirked and sighed in mock exasperation. "You sure are an inquisitive little bugger aren't you?"

Harry smiled, "Yep! Daddy tells me that all the time."

"That sounds like something he'd say."

Harry stopped in front of the back door and folded his arms across his small chest. "Well?"

"Well what?"

"The fish."

"Ahh..." Severus opened the back door to the kitchen, gesturing Harry onward before closing the door behind them. Pouring them each a cup of tea he placed the cups on the table and helped Harry into his chair. "It has to do with gills…"

§-§-§

The week went by quickly and before Severus could as much as blink, Christmas morning came in all its glory… and pain.

Clutching his stomach and muttering under his breath, Severus glared towards the other end of the bed where Harry sat with an innocent look on his face. "Did you have to do that?"

"Daddy told me to wake you up," the boy replied.

"So you decided to do so by jumping on my stomach?"

"You wouldn't wake up. I tried bunches of times, you just kept snoring…"

Indignantly Severus countered, "I do nothing of the sort."

Harry giggled. "Yes you do."

Changing the subject, Severus asked, "Is breakfast ready?"

"Yeah, that's why Daddy sent me up here." Grabbing hold of his arms, Harry attempted to pull him towards to door. "Come on, Daddy said we can't open presents until after we eat."

Severus' face took on a funny expression as he gasped in mock outrage, sending Harry into a fit of giggles. "Oh the agony of it all!" He said as he clutched at his chest. "However shall we wait that long?" Straightening up, he smiled at Harry who was trying to hold back his laughter at Severus' antics and failing quite miserably. Getting out of bed, he reached for his dressing robe, pulling it over his pajamas, and fastened the cord around his middle. "Well we can't have that can we?" Reaching down, he picked up the giggling boy and placed him on top of his shoulders as he headed towards the stairs. "So what are we having for breakfast?"

§-§-§

The fire crackled merrily, illuminating the two figures sitting in black armchairs by the fireplace. Exhausted from the day's activities, Severus leaned back into the chair, enjoying the warmth of the fire on his face. Beside him Death sat upright in his chair, staring into the fire and occasionally sipping his tea. Turning to face Severus he asked, "Would you like some tea as well?"

"What kind is it?"

"My own concoction," Death answered.

Letting out a yawn Severus nodded and leaned further into the chair to give his aching body a rest. "I suppose so."

Conjuring a cup of his tea, he handed it to Severus before remarking, "I still can't believe you actually ran into that tree."

Severus moaned, "You're never going to let me forget that are you?"

"Never, you haven't done something like that in years… Oh, you should have seen the look on your face as you went flying through the air."

He glared. "I couldn't help it if I didn't know how to steer that stupid sled."

Death smiled, "Well you should have thought of that before you let Harry convince you to ride it." Severus shot him another glare, refusing to reply.

Harry had gotten a sled for Christmas several days ago and had been begging to go try it out. So Death, with a quick wave of his hands, had transformed the backyard into a winter wonderland (covered in three feet of snow) and the three of them had gone out earlier this morning. Severus had actually found himself to be enjoying the muggle contraption… until he had lost control of the sled, slammed into a tree and had gone flying into the air. Death and Harry of course had found the whole thing quite funny and the two hadn't stopped laughing for what seemed like hours.

"Oh stop pouting," said Death interrupting Severus' thoughts, "You've been in a sour mood all day and besides, it's New Years after all. You should be looking forward to the new year." Glancing at his young friend he asked, "Do you plan on staying up 'til midnight?"

"I don't think I can make it." Severus replied tiredly. Taking a sip of tea he stared gloomily back at his friend. "I have to go back tomorrow."

"I know. Harry's going to miss you. He loves when you come to visit."

"I'll miss him too," pausing he added, "I always do."

Death smiled. "He's hard not to miss." With that, they both slipped into silence, enjoying the quiet serenity. Some time later, Death suddenly began to shake with silent laughter. Severus raised an eyebrow in question.

"What?"

"A tree of all things, I can't believe you didn't see a tree…"

Severus rolled his eyes.

"I can see the headlines now…"

"Oh shut up." Standing up he turned towards the door and headed to his rooms. "I'm going to pack. Good night." he called over his shoulder.

--------§

****

**_Many thanks to my wonderful beta … Ashley_**

.

_Please review and tell me what you think about what I've written… I love hearing what you have to say!_

.

Thank you to all my reviewers and everyone who took the time to read my story.

Hecate DeMort - gracias

Brenna8 – Death had seen the rise and fall of so many dark lords that to him, Voldemort, especially in the state Death left him in, does pose much of a threat. Right now he's focusing most of his attention on raising Harry. He does not know of Voldemort's plots for immortality, but even if he did, he probably wouldn't do anything unless Harry's life was in jeopardy. Immortals do not like to involve themselves in human affairs and try to keep out of them as much as possible… I hope that answered your question.

Heart and Mind – Yes, it is rather odd… but it does make things different.

Frog1 – Severus did live with Death… but that's all I will saw for now.

borne-shadow-childe – hmm I don't know about appearing in his costume, but Death will visit Hogwarts from time to time.

K – I'm glad you like the plot.

Rasgara - merci

Lutheyl – Yeah, I know, I've been dragging it out for a while, but I promise (cross my heart) that how exactly they know each other will be revealed shortly.

DarkKeeper – grazie

The Vampire Story Hunter- danke

Yuikey – obrigado

gaul1 – dank u

lilith – I have read one Discworld novel, called Thief of Time (it is, however, the only one I've read)

Kaaera – thanks, I thought it was an interesting way of explaining why; exactly he does take so many points off.

Mei – Death will be making appearances to Hogwarts… and Severus and Harry's relationship will be totally platonic. If I do end up putting some romance into the story, it will not be the focus, and will be much later.

JE aka Yessina – thank you

atalante - gratia


	9. In Which Harry Goes to Hogwarts

**Disclaimer: ** I do not own Harry Potter in any way, shape, or form, nor am I making any money from this story. I do, however, own the plot and any characters that appear in the story that are not apart of the original series.

**A Different Reality**

By Constellations

- In Which Harry Goes to Hogwarts -

* * *

_Five years later…_

__

"HARRY! Get that butt of yours out of bed and get dressed! We need to leave in a half an hour." Death's voice rang out.

Blinking sleepily up at the ceiling of his room Harry yawned and rolled out of bed. "All right, all right… I'm up, I'm up." He muttered, slowly walking towards his dresser. Pulling on his clothes he briefly checked his appearance in the mirror, not even bothering to fix his perpetually messy hair, before clambering down the steps for breakfast.

Death was already seated at the table, finishing up a muffin and his traditional cup of tea when Harry entered the kitchen. "So you finally decided to join the living have you?"

Harry made a face as he sat down. "Very funny dad." Picking up a piece of toast, Harry reached for the strawberry jelly and poured some on to the bread, haphazardly spreading the sticky substance around. Scrutinizing the toast to make sure a suitable amount of jelly was present, he then reached for the honey and preceded to glob a healthy amount over the jelly before slapping another piece of toast over the concoction. "Where am I going while you're off at that thing of yours anyways?" asked Harry as he bit into his 'sandwich', jelly and honey oozing out of the sides.

"It's a surprise. And please refrain from referring to the meeting as 'that thing'. It's the Quarter Millennial Immortal Council and Conference," said Death.

Harry grimaced. "It sounds boring. Isn't there any way you can get out of it?"

His adoptive father sighed. "Yes, it _is _very boring, however, there is no way I can 'get out of it'. Unfortunately, all immortals are required to attend, whether we like it or not."

"Bummer," the boy said in between mouthfuls of food. "So how long am I staying at this mystery place again?"

"Probably 'til around Christmas." Death paused, "Give or take a week or so."

Harry's eyes widened in surprise. "That's over four months."

"I'm well aware of the time," countered his dad. "The council itself will probably last a month or so, but you know time passes differently from plane to plane. Besides I believe it will do you some good to be around other people."

Harry scowled, "I know plenty of people."

"Yes, and they're all immortals Harry. It's high time you were around other humans… and no, Severus does not count."

"So the human world, eh?" Harry pondered. "Well, that narrows down the list of places to stay considerably."

"Perhaps." Rising from his chair Death asked, "Do you have everything ready to go?"

"Yes, everything is out in the foyer." Harry paused for a second as he also rose from his chair, the honey and jelly sandwich long finished. "Could I take the portrait with me?" He asked as they walked from the kitchen to the foyer.

Death smiled as he replied. "Of course." With a wave of his hand, he summoned the portrait and a moment later it appeared with a soft pop next to Harry's trunks. Death frowned momentarily and with another wave of his hand the portrait shrunk from its usual size (6' by 3') to a foot in height. "That's better, now are you sure you have everything?"

Harry simply nodded as he bent down and picked up the shrunken portrait. Smiling softly, he traced his finger across its frame and gazed lovingly at the picture of his parents. Severus had given it to him last year for his eighth birthday and ever since then; Harry refused to be parted with it.

The portrait of his parents had been painted several months after he had been born (from what his mother had told him anyway) and depicted his parents standing side by side. At the moment, they were both waving at Harry and Lily was beaming brightly up at her son. Occasionally they would turn and talk to each other, but to Harry their voices were only a dull murmur. _Being shrunk must have affected their vocal cords as well. Interesting…_ Deciding he'd think about that later, he smiled back down at his parents and tucked the portrait securely under his arm.

Harry had known while growing up that he and his 'family' were different, that most people do not have an immortal (let alone Death) for a father. But to tell the truth, he didn't really care. Nothing about his life seemed to be normal, so why should his family be? Well that was his reasoning anyway…

He had never really known his parents and Harry did wish that they were still alive, (neither Death nor Severus had ever kept the events surrounding his parents' deaths a secret from him) but ironically he couldn't imagine life without his dad (Death) either. True, he missed his parents and always would… yet they were here with him now, in a way, even if it was in the form of a portrait… for Harry that was enough. He couldn't change the events of the past after all, so the least he could do was take advantage of what he had now… in the present.

Taking his attention away from the shrunken portrait, Harry glanced at his dad. "All set."

Death gave him a reassuring grin. "Don't worry, you're going to have a great time."

"If you say so," Harry mumbled, clutching the portrait tighter.

Death's eyes twinkled with amusement. "And away we go…" Concentrating for a moment on their destination, Death made a quick gesture with his hands and with a blink of an eye they both disappeared, (along with Harry's trunks) leaving behind a small puff of smoke and magic.

Opening his eyes that he hadn't realized he'd closed, Harry glanced around at his surroundings. They seemed to be facing a large lake bordered on one side by an extensive and ancient looking forest. Mountains surrounded the spot and seemed to enclose the valley that the lake was in. The scene was very beautiful and Harry thought it had a picturesque look about it, like something you'd see in traveling brochures.

Turning to Death he asked, "Where exactly are we?"

"Scotland," came his short reply.

"Oh." Harry pivoted around to get a better look at the forest and stopped mid step as he stared at what greeted his eyes.

Built on a rise of rock was an enormous stone castle. Eyes widening, Harry gaped up at the structure. "Oh my."

Death put his hands on Harry's shoulders and looked briefly at the castle. "That, my son, is Hogwarts.

* * *

**_Many thanks to my marvelous beta … Ashley_**

.

_Please review and tell me what you think about what I've written… I love hearing what you have to say! …Constructive criticism, etc is appreciated_

.

Thank you to all my reviewers and everyone who took the time to read my story.

**Rasgara, Connie Eressea, The Vampire Story Hunter, Lynda, Silver-Enchantress-Elf, crazy-lil-nae-nae**

**Brenna8** – Well the last part of the chapter answered your question… though I'm sure you meant when he'll be attending school himself… that will be a little later.

**Starangel2106** – Death is a character all to himself. He is not someone that we know from the characters of the Harry Potter series… he's a separate entity created from the vast regions of my imagination. I do hope that clears things up for you…(and makes sense)

**Kaaera** – Well as you see I am sending him off to Hogwarts for a period of time, though he is not yet eleven (I do have my reasons). Harry won't actually attend Hogwarts as a student for a while. I plan to focus on his time at Hogwarts at nine for sometime.

**HecateDeMort** – I know, as I've said before I'm sure I've been dragging their 'mysterious' relationship out, but the explanation will be within the next several chapters. So unfortunately you'll have to wait (only for a little bit).

**DarkKeeper** – I'm glad you found it funny. I couldn't help but put that in there.

**Regina**** Lucifer - **Thanks, I'm happy you like the story so much.


	10. In Which Many Meetings Occur

**Disclaimer: ** I do not own Harry Potter in any way, shape, or form, nor am I making any money from this story. I do, however, own the plot and any characters that appear in the story that are not apart of the original series.

**A Different Reality**

By Constellations

- In Which Many Meetings Occur -

§

_Harry pivoted around to get a better look at the forest and stopped mid step as he stared at what greeted his eyes. Built on a rise of rock was an enormous stone castle. Eyes widening, Harry gaped up at the structure. "Oh my."_

_Death put his hands on Harry's shoulders and looked briefly at the castle. "That, my son, is Hogwarts._

* * *

Harry let out a sigh. How the students at Hogwarts School for Witchcraft and Wizardry were actually able to navigate through the enormous castle was beyond him. Hogwarts was a myriad of twisting corridors, (often leading nowhere) secret passages, (taking you to the oddest places) and moving staircases (which Harry was developing a severe dislike of). Even after a week, Harry still had no clue how to make his way around the castle.

"There really needs to be a map of this place," Harry grumbled to himself as he walked along yet another corridor. He let out another frustrated sigh and ran his hand through his messy chin length black hair. This was not good. After setting out on an attempt to explore without Severus' guidance, he now found himself lost in a deserted section of the castle with no clue of where he was.

Leaning back against a wall, he slowly slid to the floor and drew his legs to his chest, contemplating what had happened earlier that morning. What had seemed like a grand idea before hand was quickly turning sour. Flicking an invisible piece of dust of his robe, Harry stared dejectedly at the floor. There were still several weeks left before the school started again and the only people in the castle besides Harry were the handful of teachers that had stayed for the summer. Which meant that it would probably be hours before someone would find him. _Wonderful… _

Harry stood and stretched his cramped legs. _Oh gods, snap out of it Harry! _ He thought, mentally slapping himself._ No ones going to find you if you mope around here all day. _So after more stretching, the boy continued his trek through the corridors of the castle.

A half an hour later…

Harry was bored. He still hadn't encountered any semblance of a living thing since he had set out again and was starting to get discouraged. Slowing to a stop he glanced around him. The hallway's décor was definitely different from where he had started, which showed he had made some progress. But there was still an abandoned air about the place, like it hadn't been used in decades (even if it seemed perfectly clean).

There were no portraits adorning the walls either. It had been one of the first things Harry had noticed when he had realized he was lost. Lost in thought, he studied the walls of the corridor. From the looks of things, there hadn't been any portraits hanging on the walls for years. There were, however, more than enough suits of armor. Unfortunately for him, unlike wizarding portraits, suits of armor could not talk and though they did have some means of communication (mainly through motions), they were very hard to understand and Harry had given up asking them for directions ages ago.

_What I need is a ghost. At least they would be able to give me some directions._

Harry continued his walk and had passed seven suits of armor and was about to turn a corner when a loud crash resounded throughout the corridor ahead of him. His curiosity getting the better of him, Harry raced around the corner to see what had caused the commotion when he heard another loud crash…

Surprise briefly flicked across Harry's features as he rounded the corner and stared at the source of the noise. Floating in mid air was…was… well Harry wasn't sure quite sure what is it was, but it had a devious grin stretched across its face as it happily destroyed a hanging chandelier, occasionally breaking off parts of the crystal and throwing it to the ground (which accounted for the loud crashes). Inching closer, Harry looked at the being curiously while it continued to dismantle the chandelier, seemingly ignorant to the fact that it had an audience.

Several more minutes and a severely damaged candelabrum later, it gave a satisfied nod at its work and focused its attention on Harry who was still gaping at it. With a grin still plastered to its face, it glided down to Harry's eye level and stopped.

"Ooooo…" It cackled with glee. "A wee ickle firstie all _alone_." The being paused. "Noo… you're too puny to be a firstie." Harry gave it an affronted look. His height (or lack of it) was a sensitive subject. It didn't seem to notice, however, and continued on. "Ickle firsties aren't coming for weeks." It sighed. "Oh wells, teachers will have to do…" The being trailed off as it did a double take at the sight of Harry's scar.

"Ohhhh… what do we have here?" Before Harry could say anything in protest, it reached up and pressed a small hand on his forehead. The boy blinked in shock. He was used to everyone staring at his scar by now, (even if it was annoying) but no one had ever touched it before. However, aside from a slight tingling on his forehead, nothing unusual happened, so Harry relaxed as the being examined his forehead.

Not many things come as a surprise to Peeves anymore, but this sure did. The instant he had touched the little one's skin he'd known… Peeves pulled away in shock, his arm still tingling from he protective magic that the boy was saturated in. _How curious…How **interesting**…Who would have thought the rumors are actually true. To think that Death actually adopted a human…_ He studied the boy closer (particularly focusing on the scar that had caught his attention in the first place). _And Harry Potter no less…_

Drawing himself back several feet, he cackled. _Oh how amusing… _Eventually, Peeves refocused his full attention on Harry.

Sensing that he had its attention, Harry asked "Who are you?"

It took a mock bow. "I…" He said with a flourish of his hands, "…am Peeves… general purveyor of mischief and mayhem."

Harry smiled. He had never met anyone like this before. "What are you exactly?" Harry peered closely at it. "You wouldn't be a ghost would you?"

He couldn't help but giggle at the look on Peeves face as he sputtered indignantly, "I am _not_ a ghost." Looking at the young boy with a fixed eye he paused for dramatic effect, "I am a poltergeist."

Harry's eyes practically lit up in excitement. "Oh… I've never met a poltergeist before, but Severus used to go on and on about one at Hogwarts and all the havoc it caused." Taking another look at Peeves he added, "That was you, wasn't it?"

"Yes."

"So," Harry asked in an attempt to make polite conversation, (it never hurt to be polite to ghost, or poltergeists for that matter) "How long has it been since you um died."

The poltergeist looked thoughtful. "I'd say it's been around seven hundred years since my most fortunate death… give or take a decade."

"Fortunate, how so?" asked the boy, obviously confused.

Peeves smirked, "Well I certainly couldn't make this much trouble while I was alive _and_ get away with it now could I?"

"I see." Harry replied in understanding. "You have a point there." The boy absently twisted a piece of his hair around his finger. "Why are you here anyways… I thought for sure this part of the castle was empty and I haven't seen anyone else around."

Looking questioningly at the poltergeist, Harry was almost sure he'd seen a look of surprise flash across his face, but when he looked again Peeves' face only showed its usual mischievous smirk. Harry shook his head slightly. He must have imagined it. Instead he focused his attention back onto the ghost who had yet to answer his question.

"You called." Peeves simply said.

Harry looked at Peeves as if the poltergeist had sprouted a second head. "What do you _mean_ called? I didn't say anything."

Peeves shrugged his shoulders, if the boy didn't yet understand… it wasn't his place or on his authority to inform him. Instead he steered the conversation in another direction. "What are _you_ doing there in this part of the castle? As you said before no one lives in this section of Hogwarts."

"I'm lost." Harry said bluntly.

"Hmm, well follow me." Peeves said as he turned from Harry and started to float further down the corridor. "I know of a secret passage around here somewhere that should take you to the Great Hall." Mainly out of the curiosity of why the poltergeist was actually willing to help him, Harry followed. Ten minutes later, Peeves abruptly stopped in front of a large tapestry that depicted a great grey dragon spouting flame from its mouth. Looking at the black haired boy he gestured at the tapestry. "This, I believe, is the right one."

"Thank you," Harry said with genuine gratitude. Peeves nodded absently, not used to being thanked. The boy smiled at the poltergeist hovering in front of him and on impulse, Harry reached over and gave Peeves a quick hug before disappearing behind the tapestry… leaving a very shocked poltergeist behind.

Peeves watched in silence as the tapestry slipped back into place. This was going to be an interesting year. Peeves continued to stare at the material, his smirk slowly growing into a broad grin. _Now for some fun…_ He thought to himself, cackling with glee. He hadn't properly bothered McGonagall for quite some time…

* * *

Thanking the stars he had met Peeves when he did, Harry slipped out from behind another tapestry and saw the doors to the Great Hall over on his right. For several minutes he simply stood still, not quite believing he was finally out of that maze of deserted corridors. Pinching himself for good measure, a smile slowly crept across his features, relief washing over him. He'd really been afraid he'd never get out of that awful place.

Stomach rumbling, Harry soon forgot his afternoon escapades at the thought of food. Eager to stop his stomach's protests, he quickly ran out of the indented space of the tapestry and straight into what he first thought was a wall of black leather. Not expecting the collision, the impact caught Harry off balance and he fell backwards, his head hitting the stone floor with a soft crack.

Harry groaned. _Owwww…that hurt…_

"Are you alright?" Asked a voice in concern.

Harry blinked several times as his vision came into focus. The first thing that caught his eye was the long sharp tooth hanging from the ear of the man he'd run into. Blatantly staring, he watched as the man reached out his hand and help Harry to his feet. All the while, Harry continued to stare. He knew he was being extremely rude, but he couldn't help it. He had never seen in his short time at Hogwarts anybody who looked so… cool (the Wizarding World was _not_ known for its fashion sense).

The guy in front of him was tall. Taller than anybody he'd met (besides his dad) and had long orange-red hair (that reached below his shoulder blades) that was pulled back at the nape of his neck and fastened with a cord of leather. Dressed almost entirely in black, he wore a worn leather trench coat that fell just above the tips of his thick black boots. Where the coat fell open, countless straps laced with metal could be seen crossing over his chest and several silver chains were wrapped around his waist. Glancing closer at the man's waist he noticed the glint of a dagger concealed on a large black belt.

To say the man was intimidating was an understatement… _He is not someone I would want to mess with._ Harry thought.

The man, who had been watching Harry gape at his appearance, chuckled in amusement at the boy's wide eyed expression. Startled, Harry jumped slightly at the sound and looked warily at him. When his chuckling subsided, the man introduced himself. "I'm Bill Weasley… it's a pleasure to bump into you."

"I'm Harry." He said hesitantly. Bill raised an eyebrow in question and Harry steeled himself for the man's response. "Harry Potter."

Bill's glaze flickered briefly towards his forehead and Harry flinched. He knew all about his fame in the Wizarding World, but it was one thing to know and totally another to experience it first hand. Having everyone stare at his forehead with awe was getting old… really fast. But a moment later, the man turned his attention on Harry's face and the boy relaxed.

"So, what do you think of Hogwarts?"

Harry made a face. "It's very beautiful, but I feel as if I'll never be able to find my way around."

Bill smiled knowingly. "It does seem that way at first, but don't worry, you'll soon learn your way." Harry looked at him incredulously. "It's true." Bill replied. "Oh, by the way. Severus had been looking for you." He chuckled again at the thought. "I've never seen the man so frantic in his life. You've given him quite a scare. Did you really sneak away from Hagrid?"

Harry looked at Bill sheepishly and nodded. There was a pause. "Where have you been all this time?" The red-head asked curiously. "Severus has everyone out looking for you… I was about to go search myself… but it seems I didn't have to go far."

The boy wrinkled his nose as he remembered. "I got lost in an abandoned part of the castle."

Bill raised both eyebrows in surprise. "How did you end up here then?"

Harry's face brightened and he answered. "Peeves!"

Bill looked at Harry. "Peeves…?" He asked skeptically. "As in the poltergeist that terrorizes Hogwarts. Notorious for pestering and pranking the student population… especially first years."

"Yes."

"And you're all in one piece… he didn't hex you, drench you with something, or make himself a nuisance?"

Harry shook his head. "No, he was really nice."

"Nice?" Confusion etched in the man's voice. Harry nodded and stared at him quizzically. Still obviously confused, Bill pulled himself together. "I'm just a little surprised, that's all," He said in answer to Harry's silent question, "Peeves doesn't usually act that way around people. In fact, the Bloody Baron seems to be the only one that can make him act normal… or as normal as he can get."

Harry shrugged. "Maybe he likes me."

"Maybe…" Bill trailed off and let the subject drop. Squatting, so that he was eye level to Harry he asked, "How would you like to meet all of the Hogwarts staff? The rest of the teachers arrived this afternoon."

Harry agreed and took Bill's offered hand as they walked past the Great Hall. "They're having a meeting in the staff room soon… that's where we're having dinner as well." The red-head told the boy as they walked hand in hand.

Halfway to the staffroom Harry asked. "Bill?"

"Yes?"

"Are you going to be teaching here at Hogwarts?"

He chuckled. "No, I'm just here as an apprentice of sorts for Charms and to help with Dueling for a year or two. I want to gain more experience before I actually start working as a curse breaker."

Harry looked up at Bill in contemplation. Curse breaking, he finally decided, sounded like the perfect job for someone like Bill.

* * *

**_Many thanks to my fantastic beta and friend … Ashley_**

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_Please review and tell me what you think about what I've written… I love hearing what you have to say! …Constructive criticism, etc is appreciated_

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**_A word from the author:_**

Though a ways away… I would like your opinion of what House you believe Harry should be sorted into. If you are kind enough to do so… please give a reason as to why you believe he should be in a certain House (instead of just typing the House name… this helps me a lot more). I have an idea of to which House he'll go, but I'd like to hear your input as well.

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Thank you to all my reviewers and everyone who took the time to read my story.

**Mikito**, **The Vampire Story Hunter**, **Night-Owl123**, **sunny smiles**, **Badassgothicgirl**, **gaul1**, **HecateDeMort**

**starangel2106** – Harry turned nine that past July 31st. In the story it is late August.

**risi** – hopefully this chapter answered your question, school won't start until two chapters from now.

**Brenna8** – Yes… to all three… it will definitely be interesting.

**aurorawolf** – Your question regarding the relationship between Death and Severus will be answered within the next few chapters.

**JE aka Yessina** – I liked the tree part too…Severus does know that Harry is coming to Hogwarts and that will be explained more next chapter. For the most part, except for 'people' like Peeves, Bill, and Albus… along with several other teachers, most people will react to Harry's presence as they normally do (like the annoying habit of staring at his forehead). Also, while I had not planned on writing about Death's meeting, you gave me some ideas… so you might get to see what it was like in detail after all.

**Kaaera** – Harry will be Harry Potter. While Death did adopt him legally… last names are not very important to immortals. Harry is in every sense of the word Death's son… both legally, magically, and technically by blood because of the magic Death invoked when he adopted Harry. The name Death uses is only as a cover name of sorts when he needs to go to meet someone, etc in the mortal world, so Harry will not be taking his last name or any other.


	11. Of Thoughts, Stories, and Darker Things

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Harry Potter in any way, shape, or form, nor am I making any money from this story. I do, however, own the plot and any characters that appear in the story that are not apart of the original series.

**A Different Reality**

By Constellations

- Of Thoughts, Stories, and Darker Things -

* * *

Minerva McGonagall absently chewed on the tip of her quill (a habit she seemed to be unable to break) as she reviewed her newly drafted lesson plans for the coming year. Once satisfied that everything was as it should be, Minerva allowed herself a small smile. She loved to teach, but making and revising lesson plans had never been particularly enjoyable. 

Sitting back in her chair she sighed with relief as she stared at the stacks of papers. She'd cut it a little close this year (it was only a week before the term started) and Minerva couldn't help but feel a little guilty for not finishing sooner, even though Albus _had_ told her not to rush…

Making a few gestures with her wand, Minerva pointed it at the lesson plans and they disappeared with a small pop, relocating to her designated box in Albus' office. With the papers out of sight, she leaned further back into her comfortable dark red chair and conjured up a cup of cool pumpkin juice.

Taking a sip of the refreshing liquid the Head of Gryffindor smiled. It was good to be home. She'd been gone most of the summer visiting distant family in Ireland and touring several cities in Italy. Nothing, however, felt like home as Hogwarts did. It was more than just a job for her. Those children were hers… in a way and the people in the castle were like a second family to her, even if some did drive her crazy.

She shook her head. _I can't believe it'll be eighteen years this term since I started teaching here_. Minerva took another long sip of the juice. _It's all gone by so fast…_ Memories of teaching, especially those of her first years flooded her mind. She chuckled. Her first year had proven to be very challenging to say the least. Fresh from university where she had gotten her Mastery in Transfiguration, Minerva had started teaching and had assumed the position as Head of House the same year James, Sirius, Lily, Severus and the rest had entered Hogwarts. It was sufficient to say that there had never been a dull moment those first seven years.

The soft chimes of an alert spell brought her out of her thoughts. Quickly murmuring a spell to turn off the charm, Minerva rose from her chair and made her way out of the Transfiguration classroom which doubled as her office. It was time for dinner.

Many of the staff had already arrived and seated themselves at a table similar to the ones students used during term when Minerva entered into the Great Hall. Greeting Albus with a nod, she slipped into her normal seat next to Severus (she was still one of the only staff members who would willingly sit next to him). Saying hello, Minerva was met with his usual glance of acknowledgement and traditional greeting that ranged from "morning" to "evening" depending on the time.

The Head of Gryffindor looked at her friend with a slight smile on her face. Though she had only arrived several days before, she hadn't seen Severus this happy in all the years they'd taught together. Harry, it seemed, had inherited Lily's ability to pull Severus out of his tightly clamped shell. True… he was still moody and grumpy sometimes, (like now) but his overall disposition was much better than before...

Her dinner had just materialized before her when the doors of the Great Hall burst open, drawing everyone's attention away from their meals. Several of the staff members chuckled and Minerva couldn't help but smile herself as Bill strode into the Hall carrying Harry piggy back style, the two laughing all the while. She shook her head in amusement. Bill then swung Harry around before dropping the boy onto the bench of the other side of the table. Those two were quite a pair.

She studied Harry as he ate dinner and teasingly flicked food at Severus. The young boy was bringing out many changes in Hogwarts. The staff had already grown used to his never ending questions and the way he would tail a professor about, watching them work. He was fast becoming a normality in all their lives and the day simply wouldn't seem the same without Harry's vivacious curiosity and odd sense of humor.

The boy whether he realized it or not, had a way of nosing his way into someone's life, making himself completely at home, and warping their life so completely that they could only stand back and wonder what had just happened.

* * *

If the staff had noticed a change in Severus' mood since Harry had arrived, they had been wise enough not to mention it… as least to his face. Whether or not they did this in fear of invoking his usually mood or for some other nefarious purpose he had yet to determine, but all the same, he was glad his fellow colleagues were tactfully (well most of the time…) avoiding commenting on his vast change in humor. Harry had always been able to bring out the best in him (whether he liked it or not it seemed) and Severus did not wish to try and explain that to the rest of the staff… it was far too personal. 

He took a sip of his cold apple cider and looked around the table. Albus (who was his usual irritatingly cheerful self) was busy chattering happily to Amelia Sprout about God knows what. Flitwick, it seemed, had gotten the honor of sitting next to Sybil tonight (the staff tried almost as desperately not to sit next to her as they did him…) and was trying (and failing) to mask the bored expression on his face as Trelawney rambled on and on, never noticing her companion's discomfort.

Severus almost felt sorry for the Charms professor. The man was making such a noble attempt to stay polite. The Potions Master had found upon much studying of his colleagues that Filius was the only teacher besides Dumbledore (and himself to a point) that was able to keep their cool around the frustrating woman… but there was only so much of Sybil anyone could take and Flitwick looked to be coming to the end of his rope. Sending the small man a look of pity, Severus diverted his attention to the others at the table.

Hagrid was gesturing wildly to Kettleburn, professor of Care of Magical Creatures, and talking loudly about the newest (and most likely dangerous) creature brought in for the next term…

"Hello." A familiar voice said, interrupting his thoughts. Severus gave her a glare and scowled, slightly annoyed at being interrupted at his people watching.

"Evening," he muttered in acknowledgement. Turning back to his plate which he had yet to touch, he began to eat. Taking a bite of mashed potatoes, the Slytherin glanced over at Minerva. Meeting his friend's thoughtful gaze (come to think of it, a lot of those had been directed at him lately) he raised an eyebrow before returning to his food. Other than Albus, Minerva was the only other person that he could tolerate and trust in the castle. Albeit, their friendship was an odd one and by no means perfect (the rest of the staff had never understood it anyways). However, be that as it may, there was a deep level of understanding that had developed between them over their years of teaching together, despite pending differences.

Resurfacing from his thoughts, Severus stared into his cup of cider, watching the specks of cinnamon swirl around. He glanced at the doors and then at his wrist. _Where has that insolent boy run off to? Honestly, they should have been back by now…it's well past seven._ But much to Severus' relief, the doors swung open not a minute later, revealing Bill carrying Harry on his back.

Severus shot Harry a look as Bill plopped his godson onto the bench across from him. Harry gave him an innocent grin. "You're late." The boy looked up at him sheepishly.

"We lost track of time."

"You need to come up with better excuses." He handed Harry a basket of rolls. "So what were you doing?"

Harry smiled. "Bill was showing me around the grounds. I haven't been able to explore outside of the castle that much and he said he'd take me." The boy glanced down at the end of the table where the eldest Weasley was currently talking with Albus. "He even said he would teach me how to swim tomorrow." He said eagerly. "If you'll let me..." Harry trailed off and looked at his godfather expectantly.

Severus smiled. "I suppose so. Just try to not drown yourself."

Harry smirked as he flicked a bean at his godfather. "Don't worry. I won't."

Snape crossed his arms over his chest. "I would highly advise you not to do that again," he drawled out in a low tone.

The boy's smirk grew into a wide grin. "Do what?" he said innocently. "This?" He flicked another bean at Severus, hitting him smack dab in the face. Severus let out a growl.

"You have five seconds before I come get you for that… I'd start running if I were you... you're too ticklish for your own good." He grinned and held up his right hand in a fist, pointing his index finger towards the ceiling. "One."

Needless to say, that's all it took for Harry to bolt off the bench towards the door. Patiently, Severus counted off the remaining seconds before calmly rising to his seat. Nodding at Albus, who simply smiled in return, eyes twinkling merrily, he bid Minerva good evening and stalked towards the door. The minute he past the doors of the Great Hall Severus broke into a dead run after Harry who was tearing down the corridor.

With a mischievous gleam in his eye, he closed in on his godson… Harry's shrieks of laughter soon resounding throughout the castle.

* * *

Severus pulled a dark green robe over his night clothes in an attempt to thwart the bitter cold that seeped into the lower dungeons at night. In slipper clad feet he walked over the small adjoining room off of his quarters that Harry was using as a make shift bedroom. Leaning on the door frame Severus peeked in on his godson. 

Upon moving in several weeks beforehand, Harry had been able to make the room a mess in about an hour after unpacking (he never had been very neat). Books were scattered everywhere. Severus shook his head. Harry had brought his favorite books along with him to read for the duration of his stay, which meant (since he read a great deal) that he had emptied out about a tenth of the library at home. Well to Severus at least, it sure looked that way. Any empty space in the room was taken up by books and various knick knacks that the boy had collected. Harry's portrait of his parents that he'd given him had ended up being too large to fit, so that had ended up in the sitting room where Severus was now annoyed by James Potter whenever he entered.

"So, I see you finally finished Hogwarts, A History." Severus stated, gesturing towards the book the messy haired boy held in his hands.

Harry looked up and grimaced. "Yeah… I finished it this afternoon." He stood up and placed a book on the nightstand. "Some of it's interesting, I guess."

"What are you reading now?" Snape inquired.

Harry crawled into bed. "Just one on astronomy, I've noticed that the night sky here is different than at home."

Severus sat down on the bed next to him and nodded. "There are subtle differences between the two." He helped Harry get under the covers and looked at him suspiciously. "Did you brush your teeth yet?"

Harry hesitated a moment to long. "Yes."

He scrutinized his godson. "You're doing much better. The innocent expression was good, if not a little strong, but you need to remember not to hesitate. It is the easiest way to tell if someone is lying."

Harry rolled his eyes. "Only _you_ would actually give me advice on how to lie better. Honestly, you're worse than Dad sometimes."

Severus raised an eyebrow. "I'll take that as a compliment," he drawled. "Now scoot."

The boy scowled. "Do I _have_ to?"

"Yes you do and no more arguments. Now," said Severus as he lifted Harry out from under the covers and set him on the floor, "get moving." Grumbling, Harry made his way to the bathroom. "And make sure you brush for longer than thirty seconds Harry." Severus called as he heard the sound of running water echoing from the washroom.

A couple minutes later, Harry returned to his makeshift room with fresher breath and a whiter smile. Climbing back under the covers he turned to Severus who was still sitting on the edge of the bed. "Would you tell me a story?" He asked.

Severus smiled. Several years beforehand he had started telling Harry tales on a number of different subjects when he came to visit and over time it had evolved into a 'sacred' tradition, which the two of them enjoyed. "Of course," he answered. "What would you like to hear?"

Harry's face screwed up in concentration and a smile began to spread across his face as a thought came to him. "One of my parents… when they would always play pranks on each other…those are the best."

Snape chuckled. "They are rather entertaining." He leaned back into the headboard. "Did I ever tell you when Lily turned your father blue?"

The boy snickered. "Yeah. That one was priceless though. I still can't believe he actually had the nerve to hex all her clothes pink and still expect her to agree to go out with him."

"Yes, well that was only the beginnings of a long drawn out prank war between the pair."

"How long did it last?" Harry asked curiously.

"Hmm… the 'blue incident' was around the start of sixth year, so it lasted about a year and a half before your mother finally relented and started dating your father."

Harry let out a whistle and Severus nodded in agreement. "Now let's see… what to tell…Oh I know… this one is perfect." Arranging himself in a more comfortable position on the bed he began the story. "It was the middle of sixth year and I had just sat down at the Slytherin table for breakfast when…"

* * *

**Flashback**

The doors of the Great Hall burst open with a loud bang revealing a furious Lily Evans. Everyone turned towards the entrance, gasps of surprise and shock (and chuckling…from the Slytherins anyway) ringing throughout the room.

"JAMES POTTER WHAT IN THE BLOODY HELL DID YOU DO?" she shrieked as she stalked towards the Gryffindor table with a terrible glint in her eye.

Across the Hall, Severus glanced up from his eggs and shot his best friend a sympathetic look when he saw her 'new appearance'. Normally Lily Evans had a very sweet disposition and a very long fuse when it came to her temper… however, when that fuse would finally run out… and Potter (unfortunately for him) had done plenty of things to get on her nerves. He shook his head. Even with all the crap Potter had done to him over the years Severus almost pitied him… almost. The idiot really should've learned by now that it was never a good idea to piss Lily off.

"Gryffindors," he muttered as he watched the events unfold.

James Potter was perhaps for the first time in his life slightly afraid (and he had a very good reason to be). Leaning back on the bench to look past Remus he winced as Lily continued her rampage towards him. After seeing her like this, he was starting to regret his latest hex, which had seemed rather funny at the time.

Instead of her normal red hair that reached mid waist, Lily was now sporting (courtesy of James Potter) a head full of red-orange snakes, much like Medusa. And to say the least, she was not a bit happy with this change. Coming up on the Gryffindor table she drew herself up to her full height (which wasn't very tall) and stopped in front of the prankster. Folding her arms across her chest and angrily tapping her left foot, she sent James a glare worthy of Death's while the snakes adorning her head twisted in the air, hissing quietly.

James turned himself around to face Lily and warily eyed the snakes before flashing the irate red-head an innocent smile. "Why good morning my dearest Lily… How are you on this marvelous day?"

"Change it back." Lily growled out in a low tone. "Now."

He cocked his head to the side and asked, "Whatever are you talking about?" James paused, "I do love your new look by the way… it suits you."

The tapping increased. "I know you were the one who did this," She emphasized with a sharp jab towards her head, "So quit the innocent act and change it back."

James' grin grew. "I'm afraid it lasts for over forty-eight hours… so you'll just have to wait for it to return to normal."

That, however, was the wrong thing to say. Before James Potter could so much as blink, Lily pulled out her wand and said a short incantation, snakes hissing all the while. "I have had enough of you and your stupid pranks Potter, _so leave me alone_." She said as she reached out and grabbed a chocolate chip muffin from a basket near the edge of the table. With that she turned around with a flounce and headed over to where Severus was sitting.

Collapsing on the bench beside him she gave a long sigh and massaged her temples. Severus glanced at his best friend. "Tough morning huh?"

She snorted in response. "You have no idea." Taking a bite out of her muffin she added, "Would you pass me the pumpkin juice?"

Severus nodded absently and passed the pitcher her way. "So what exactly did you do to him?" He asked curiously as she poured herself a cup.

Lily smiled for the first time that morning. "Oh you'll see…" Sure enough, several minutes later screams and shrieks could be heard from the Gryffindor table. Severus turned around and couldn't help but smile at what he saw. There, sitting next to Remus among wisps of pink smoke, sat a donkey with a pair of glasses very similar to Potter's on its face.

Upon seeing the very disgruntled donkey Severus burst out laughing. "Oh that's priceless…now he really _is_ a jackass." Lily only nodded in agreement, a smug look plastered on her face.

* * *

Harry couldn't stop giggling. "Mum turned him into a donkey?" Snape nodded and said. "The teachers refused to change your Father back as punishment so he had to stay with Hagrid until the spell wore off." 

"What happened to Mum?" the black haired boy asked.

Severus smiled down at his godson. "She was given a weeks detention for practicing human transfiguration on another student, but to her the spell was well worth the punishment."

"That was one of the best stories I've heard about them." Harry murmured as he snuggled closer into the covers. Snape remained quiet and the pair slipped into a comfortable silence, both lost in their own thoughts.

Severus welcomed the silence like a warm blanket on a cool winter's night. He lived for the brief moments of silence in his life, which he found (much to his dismay) were becoming increasingly rare. Settling deeper into the small bed, he relaxed, listening to the soft sound of their joint breath. The Potions Master let out a sigh. Peace was a wonderful thing.

How long they lay there in silence as time slipped by, neither really knew, but they were content with each other's calm presence.

Eventually, sleep began to take its hold and Severus couldn't help but show a slight smile as his godson tried in vain to hold back a yawn. He lightly nudged the tired boy. "You really ought to be going to bed now." Harry looked up at Snape. "But I am in bed," he said cheekily. "Besides," he continued as he suppressed another yawn, "I'm not tired at all."

"Yes… I can see that." Severus said sarcastically. Ever so slowly he eased off of the boy's bed and knelt beside it. Harry turned on his side so he faced him. "Sev?" He asked in a tired voice.

"Yes?"

"What were your parents like?"

He froze and the smile on his face slowly faded into a grim line. That was one subject that he hadn't thought about in a long time. Severus swallowed. "Where they anything like mine?" His godson's voice cutting into his jumbled thoughts. The man blinked and focused his attention on the small boy. "Yes," he said with some hesitation, struggling against the flood of memories he'd locked deep within the recesses of his mind. "In some ways they were." He paused for several minutes. "They both loved each other very much and were very happy together…"

Severus broke off as he heard the sound of Harry's light snoring. Relieved at not having to continue, he leaned over and kissed the boy's forehead, whispering him a good nights sleep, before jerkily standing up.

Making his way into the sitting room he collapsed into an armchair by the fire, looking into the still roaring flames. Thoughts and memories long forgotten surfacing from the dark holds of his mind, plaguing him with old feelings of despair and anguish. The heat of the blaze warmed his skin, but inside he was cold as ice. Severus let out a moan and buried his hands in his face. It had been so long… He'd pushed them away… made himself forget. It had been easier that way, easier to cope, to live.

Staring unseeing into the fire, he watched as resurfacing memories of his parents… their lives… their deaths…passed before his eyes. For once in his life, he succumbed to the self pity and simply let the waves of despair roll over him as pictures flashed through his mind.

Barely coherent of what he was doing, Severus summoned a bottle of bourbon and poured himself a glass. He quickly downed it and poured another…and another…seeking any outlet for his pain. Anything to soothe the ache that the unwanted memories were bringing.

This time, Death wasn't here to stop him. To reason with him. To console him. To help him.

He was all alone…helpless… as un-welcomed memories, thoughts, and scenes swamped his vision.

* * *

**_My heartfelt thanks to my beta and friend, Ashley who continues to edit this story._**

_Please review and tell me what you think about what I've written…This story is a continual work in progress and I always strive to make it better…plus I do love hearing what you have to say! …Constructive criticism, etc is appreciated and very helpful_

**_--A word from the author:_**

****

Yes, it has taken me a long time to update this story and (hopefully) I will be updating more regularly in the future. July, however, was a very busy month for me. Between my best friend coming up for three weeks and a week long trip with my youth group… I haven't had time to write.

Though still in the distant future… I would like your opinion of what House you believe Harry should be sorted into. If you are kind enough to do so… please give a reason as to why you believe he should be in a certain House (instead of just typing the House name… this helps me a lot more). I have an idea of to which House he might go to, but I'd like to hear your input as well… it really does help.

On another note. I want to thank everyone who left their opinions about the Sorting. I really appreciate it (a lot).

* * *

****

Thank you to all my reviewers and everyone else who took the time to read my story.

**Night-Owl123, The Vampire Story Hunter, shiroiryu144, insanechildfanfic, aurorawolf, Avemtilla, Kaaera, Lover5, Heart and Mind, Dyann **

**Isis**** –** Thank you for telling me your thoughts on the Sorting. More of Harry's character will be revealed as the story starts to shift its focus from Severus to Harry throughout his time at Hogwarts while he is nine.

**Atticus J. Finch –** Thanks… and I like Bill's clothes too. Bill in general is a very cool character and I wish we could see more of him and Charlie in the books… but who knows, maybe we will.

**starangel2106 –** You're very welcome. Thank you for your well rounded views for the Houses… and yes, Death would have probably been in Slytherin since his nature is very similar to many qualities that make up that House.

**gaul1 –** I skipped over that part in the story… but it would have been rather interesting. As you will see as the story continues to progress, Severus can tend to be a little overprotective of Harry. And young Harry _will_ be meeting the Bloody Baron in the near future…

**SilverDragonHawk – **Thanks, I'm glad you think that… and I appreciate your thoughts on where Harry should go.

**Stahchild –** Gracias. I still have not decided what exactly I should do with Draco Malfoy. His character has a lot of potential… but I'll have to think on it (but there is a decent chance he does become friends with Harry). If they do become friends, their friendship will not be an easy one to say the least and will have a lot of bumps. Harry will be friends with Ron and Hermione, but it will be different since he will have older friends from different Houses as well so they will not be the only ones he spends his time with. Dumbledore and Harry will get along well. I have read a lot of fanfics portraying him as a manipulating old man, but I believe he is genuinely sincere, even if he did make mistakes… and I don't believe I could write him another way.

**Badassgothicgirl –** I agree.

**Sweetest Thang –** Danke. The chapters are slowly becoming longer… and as I've said, more of what Harry is like will be revealed throughout his stay until Christmas.

**Hakkai-Gojyo-Goku-Sanzo – **Peeves is cool and around Harry he will act like his 'real' self… but I can't say the same for everyone else.

**HecateDeMort – **True names hold a lot of power and names in general do as well. For immortals, their true name is one of their deepest secrets… well at least to mortals that is… they themselves could care less if their fellow immortals know (it doesn't work the same). Death has several true names (which they pick themselves… in other words, whatever suits their fancy) but the ones he uses the most are Thanatos and Rajnish which are respectably Greek and Indian in origin (He was really into Greek and early Indian culture a while back and some things seemed to stick with him).

**JE aka Yessina –** Thank you. That _is_ Peeves' real self that he never shows to anyone except perhaps the Bloody Baron. But why Harry? A big part of it is because of Death…the immortal does after all hold a lot of power over the poltergeist and Peeves is not stupid, but eventually he does grow attached to the kid.

**Lutheyl –** Eh… it was a little fluffy wasn't it? But have no fear, not everything will be as fluffy as the past chapter or so… and they will get longer…

**shellava –** Thank you for putting in your two cents. I really appreciate it and can tell you really put thought into it. Your analysis of Harry was very perceptive and you hit some things right on the nose.

**crazyNM –** Thanks. I have not read that series by Piers Anthony… but I have read several other books by him and he is a good author.

**Cat323 –** Though I am not positive which House Harry shall go into… he most likely will _not_ go into Gryffindor.

**Nine Davids –** Thanks. I honestly do not know which House Peeves was in, but it was most likely Slytherin.


	12. Memories

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Harry Potter in any way, shape, or form, nor am I making any money from this story. I do, however, own the plot and any characters that appear in the story that are not apart of the original series.

**A Different Reality**

By Constellations

- Memories -

舵3

* * *

_He was all alone…helpless…as unwelcome memories, thoughts, and scenes swamped his vision…_

* * *

"Mum! Mum!" Severus yelled, waving a piece of paper in the air as he clambered down the stairs. Peeking into the parlor the eight year old frowned slightly when he saw it empty, but he quickly brightened as he pivoted in the direction of the kitchen.

Skipping into the cheery room, Severus stopped when he saw his mother standing over the sink. Meredith Snape flashed him a wide smile as she wiped her wet hands on the front of her dark blue robes. "What is it Sev?"

The small boy proudly held out the piece of paper. "I drew a picture of our family." She, crouching down to his level, took the picture from Severus' hands. Studying it she chuckled. "It's very good Sev, but I'm not quite _that_ big yet." Mrs. Snape commented, resting one hand over her protruding stomach. "I think it deserves a place on the refrigerator though… don't you think?" Carefully standing up, she made her way over the charmed fridge and stuck Severus' latest drawing on its door with a simple sticking spell.

"You'll have to show Daddy when he gets home, I'm sure he'll love the blue streaks you put in his hair." His mum said teasingly. Ruffling Severus' dark hair she added, "How would you like to help me bake a cake for dessert tonight?"

Severus looked up uncertainly. "What kind?"

"Chocolate… with vanilla icing though I might be convinced to use sprinkles as well…" she trailed off in a persuasive tone. His face lit up at the mention of sprinkles.

"Oooh… can I pick out the colors? Can I? Can I?"

"Of course," Meredith replied, "we just need to make the rest of the cake first." Summoning a step stool for Severus so he could work at he counter, she placed 3 eggs and a large mixing bowl in front of her son. "Go ahead and crack them, then put them into the bowl, but do try to not get any of the shells mixed in." She instructed.

And so, with very little mishap, a half an hour later the pair slipped the cake into the oven to bake. "There." Severus' mum said as she closed the oven. "It will take a while to bake, so why don't we have a snack before your father comes home for dinner?" Severus nodded eagerly and ran over to the large pantry on the opposite side of the kitchen. "The fruit salad from yesterday is still in…"

The sound of the door bell echoed from the hall, interrupting what she had to say. Not expecting anyone, Meredith Snape frowned slightly and walked slowly from the kitchen into the hall. Severus quietly slinked after his mother and stopped several feet behind her as she opened the large front door.

His mum's face relaxed. "Oh hello Richard. What in the name of Merlin are you doing here? Come in, I wasn't expecting…" She halted when she saw the look on her friend's face. "My God…what's wrong?"

Richard wrung his hands in his robes and hesitated a moment. "Meredith," he managed, "I'm afraid there's been an accident."

For a minute she stood there in silence. Then as his words sunk in she staggered back as comprehension dawned… horror creeping across her face. "No…"

Severus edged closer to his mother.

Richard continued, "The spell combination our team had been working on proved to be volatile…Half the room was destroyed almost instantaneously…" Meredith Snape let out a strangled sob and collapsed on the floor. Severus knelt down beside his mother and she pulled him close to her chest, brown eyes wide in shock. "It all happened so fast…" he added. "Merlin, I'm so sorry… but I'm afraid Leo didn't make it Mere."

* * *

"But Mum are you sure you'll be alright?" Severus asked in a concerned tone. 

Meredith Snape managed a weak smile. "You're only going to Hogwarts Sev, not the end of the world. I'll be alright, don't you worry. I can get along fine."

Severus frowned. His mother hadn't been the same since the coupled loss of his father and his sister (little Tabitha Snape had died of severe heart complications several hours after her birth). She hid it well for his sake, but he knew that she had never really recovered from the devastating blows. What had him really worried, however, was that lately she seemed to always be tired and lacked her usual energy and spunk. "I can always be taught from home," he said making a last ditch attempt to change his mother's mind, "I'm sure we can find a suitable tutor."

His mother's eyes grew bright with determination. "Sev," she cut in, "we've been over this many times before sweetheart and while I truly appreciate your concerns, you are getting on that train and attending Hogwarts tomorrow. End of story." Her features softened into a smile. "Now are you all packed for the trip? Good. Don't forget get to send a letter after your Sorted."

Severus could only nod.

* * *

Severus sat in one of the plush chairs Dumbledore had conjured in his office for the meeting and stared expectantly at the middle aged man sitting to his left. 

Slightly unnerved by the second year's piercing gaze Dr. Hennas cleared his throat and nervously pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose. Knowing all to well by now how doctors tended to beat around the bush Severus came straight to the point and asked, "Is there anything that can be done for her?" The boy carefully watched the expressions that flitted across the doctor's face and gave a mental sigh. This doctor wasn't going to be able to help either. He schooled his features into a cold indifferent mask and waited.

"I'm afraid there is nothing that can be done for your mother," said the doctor.

Severus felt like screaming in frustration. He had already met with many of the top doctors in the field, both muggle and magical and had yet to hear any pleasant news. "Why not?" He demanded.

The doctor sighed. "Your mother has contracted a rare case of cancer, and magic can only go so far in these things… maybe if we'd gotten to her right way…" he trailed off when he saw the look on Severus' face.

"How long does she have?" The young Slytherin inquired.

"Six months if she's lucky," came the terse reply. Severus nodded absently and muttered a faint good bye as Dr. Hennas left Dumbledore's office. Lost in his thoughts, the raven haired boy barely heard Dumbledore's consoling words.

* * *

The wind raced through the trees, scattering leaves across the valley. The grass was still damp with dew and had soaked through many of the small gatherings' best black robes. The sun rose from behind the mountains, and cast across the sky a vibrant array of pinks and yellows. Summer wildflowers had just begun to bloom. 

It was a perfect summer day, and Severus hated it.

He stood solemnly before the casket and watched as his mother was lowered into the earth. Feeling sick, Severus squeezed his eyes shut and tried to block out the images of the funeral. Dumbledore came up behind him and enclosed him in the long folds of his black robes. Glad for the small act of comfort, Severus latched onto Dumbledore's side and buried his head further into the robes.

The funeral was long and drawn out, the priest extolling the life of Meredith Snape while the group of close friends stood and mourned.

Severus lost all track of time. He tried to focus on something else, anything else but the funeral. He needed to get away; away from the sympathetic pats and the pitying glances.

_If only it would rain._ He thought. Then the weather would reflect how he truly felt and no one would be able to distinguish tears from rain. _Maybe then, if it rained, they would go away_. And he could be alone.

* * *

It was early morning, at a time before dawn when faint touches of light first begin to grace the sky. Dew clung to the grass, making the edge of his robes damp and cold. The thick dark fabric clung to his legs as he walked across the lawn, a blank expression on his face. When the boy reached the trees that marked the forest's edge he paused. There was a reason the forest had garnered such a name as Forbidden. Nights like this made him understand why. 

Trees reached across the small trail, which barely stood out against the moss, leaves, and dirt of the forest floor. Their branches were long and twisted; trunks thick and gnarled. Power emanated from the ancient wood; dark, sinister, foreboding. Mist gathered where trunk gave way to root and obscured his view of the path. Sounds of animals and things best left alone echoed throughout the forest. Moonlight cut through the bare branches of the trees, casting shadows and giving the mist an ethereal quality.

Severus turned his back on the forest and gazed upon the beautiful castle across the lawn. Turrets rose into the sky, the light grey stone standing out against the stars. He felt something tug at his heart as his eyes swept over the scene. The castle molded in the surrounding darkness as tears welled up in his eyes. Blinking back the tears that threatened to fall, he turned away from Hogwarts and entered the wood with a determined pace.

Leaves and twigs crunched under his feet, echoing deep into the wood. Severus paid it all no mind. He simply followed the twisting and turning path.

The stars were beginning to fade when he came across a small clearing. His slipper clad feet were sore and his hands cut from briars and threatening branches. Severus held out his hands and eyed them thoughtfully. In an odd way, he was glad of the dull throbbing. It proved he could still feel.

At the clearing center stood a tall, thin tree. Slender branches gracefully twisted themselves into the air. Silvery bark and leaves glowed in the light of the moon. The tree was smooth, seamless. It was perfection. A magic far more ancient and powerful than what the rest of the forest possessed pulsed from its wood. It sent out thin waves of magic pure and undiluted to the surrounding clearing. The other trees leaned away from the clearing, as if they were desperate to be out of the lone tree's presence.

Drawn to the tree, he walked slowly across the grass and stopped at its base. There he sat down and leaned back into the trunk. Severus closed his eyes and let a long sigh.

Something had died deep inside of him the day his mum was lowered into the cold earth. Something precious and treasured, that was now too far beyond his reach to grasp. It was gone and he could not get it back.

Those first few weeks had been torture. He and his mum had been close, painfully so, and her death had torn his heart. Life simply was not the same. She was gone, and nothing could ever bring her back.

Severus opened his eyes and pulled out a dagger from a pocket inside his robes. He held the weapon out before him and studied it; turning it around in his hands. It was a true work of art. A weapon passed down from generation to generation in the Snape family. The handle was deep ebony, engraved with patterns and swirls of silver on the hilt, with a sapphire pommel at its tip. It was a piece worthy of note, rumored to be made by the elves before they had withdrawn from the lives of wizards. Severus' eyes traveled down the hilt and stopped, focusing on the blade.

He closed his eyes and took a shaky breath. He had drawn away from everyone at school when he had returned to Hogwarts for third year. Everyone had given him space, understanding the need to grieve in peace, but when he had continued to withdraw, people had begun to worry. He had become cold and distant, snubbing all his peers. It was his way to cope. Severus refused to accept her death and did not want other's pity.

As weeks turned into months, Severus had slipped further and further within himself, no longer caring about anything around him. The Headmaster had approached him more than once inquiring in him, worry dulling his normally bright eyes. Severus had refused to say anything, giving Dumbledore simple excuses and poor attempts to smile.

The world had become too suffocating. All he wanted was peace, freedom from the hell his living hell. His friends had long since given up on him, depressed by his spirit and irritated by his moods. Severus shifted against the tree. All except one that is. Lily. Lily had refused to give up even when he had tried his hardest to push her away. God, he had been terrible to her and she had taken everything he'd dished out.

He didn't deserve her. Didn't deserve someone like that as a friend. His right hand trembled as he tightened on the dagger. A worthless bastard, that was all he was. Nothing. Selfish. Pathetic.

The days had grown empty. There was no meaning, no purpose in his wretched life. All passion was dead. He felt nothing but a growing sense of agitation. A tension that made him want to scream.

Severus did not know what had compelled him to the forest tonight, to venture deep into the woods. Something inside him had finally snapped and when he had woken, he had been filled with a desperate resolve. He could no longer take the nightmares, the tension, and the hurt. Feelings he could do nothing to escape.

He opened his eyes and lowered the blade to his left wrist. Severus let out a loud hiss of pain as the dagger cut deep into his skin. Tears flowed freely and he sucked in large gulps of air. His eyes rolled back as waves of pain hit him like a wall. He stared in fascination and horror as the blood ran down his arm in large rivulets, a deep rich red.

His vision grew fuzzy around the edges and his head spun. He was aware of nothing around him but the pain, and the growing darkness that crept closer and closer. A voice distorted and muted, muttering in an undistinguishable language, was the last thing he heard before the darkness enveloped him completely.

Severus blearily opened his eyes and immediately wished he hadn't. It was bright, too bright. He squinted, unaccustomed to the brightness and groaned as pain shot through his head. _Owww…_ Severus rubbed his temples as he sat up. His robes were damp and the grass wet to the touch. _Wait…grass?_ His eyes grew wide as the night before became clear in his mind. Severus stood and looked at his hands, a frown spreading across his face. The cut, which had been bleeding profusely hours before, was now healed; with no visible scars. Come to think of it, there was a lack of blood as well; neither his skin nor his clothes showed any sign of it. Surely it hadn't been a dream? He stared at his wrist in confusion. _What the heck had happened?_

"Oh good, I see you're finally awake."

Severus turned around to see a black figure leaning casually against the silver tree several feet away. This was becoming extremely weird. "Who are you?" He demanded. Severus did not like being snuck up upon. "What are you doing here? And _how_ exactly did you find me?" He watched the figure suspiciously as he waited for an answer.

"My name is of no consequence, though I suppose you may call me Xavier if it truly matters," The figure commented, giving him a piercing look. Severus shivered. He didn't know which was more unnerving, the fact that only Xavier's eyes were visible from under the cloak, or the fact that the eyes, so light blue that they were almost white, had an ethereal glow to them.

Aware of the effect of his eyes or not, Xavier continued, "But as to why I am here. There was a large display of uncommonly strong magic emitted several hours ago. The largest, I reckon, in a long while, as your time goes anyways. I daresay the whole of Britain felt it."

"Oh my."

"Yes," Xavier chuckled, "indeed. So, I being naturally curious as to what could have caused such a surge of magic, traced its flow, and found its origin here. And surprise, surprise what do I find?" Severus looked down at his hands. He didn't like the direction this was going. "A young wizard, prostrate before the Heart of the forest, unconscious and covered in blood. And not just any young wizard mind you, but Severus Snape," said Xavier testily.

Severus looked at Xavier in astonishment. "How do you know my name?"

Xavier leaned down so he was eye level with the boy. "I'd tell you…but I'd have to kill you first."

"Hey! That's not fair," said Severus.

"No," he replied solemnly, "it's not is it? But then nothing in life is ever fair."

"But I want to know," Severus grumbled.

"Would you like a chair?"

Severus blinked, "What?"

Xavier waved his hands in the air impatiently, "You know a chair, a piece of furniture one often uses when one desires to sit or recline."

Severus' eyes narrowed in suspicion. "Stop trying to change the subject."

The man sighed in frustration and made a small gesture. To Severus' surprise, a pair of large comfortable black armchairs appeared facing each other. Xavier turned and sat in the chair closest to himself, beckoning Severus to do the same. "Do sit, I find when I am engaged in long conversations, which undoubtedly this will become, it is best to make oneself comfortable."

Severus looked at the chairs in confusion. Wandless magic was near impossible to master, due to the large amount of control and willpower someone needed to complete even the simplest spells. This guy had to be powerful. And Slytherins were drawn to power; intrigued and enraptured by it like fireflies to a lit wand. "You know, it is rather rude to stare. Please sit, you are beginning to try my patience." Severus sat. Very powerful indeed. Xavier settled into the back of the chair and banished his cloak, finally revealing his appearance.

The man was handsome enough Severus supposed, with black hair and pale skin much like himself. He had an aura about him though, a certain charisma that was sure to draw all attention in a room. Yet, Severus had a strange feeling that this man could just as easily blend in with a crowd.

Xavier made another motion with his hand and conjured a cup of tea. Drawing the cup to his lips, he stopped when he saw the expression in Severus' face. "Oh, you don't mind do you?"

Severus could only shake his head. This guy was turning out to be quite odd. "Good, I have yet to have my morning cup of tea." Xavier took a sip of the tea and smiled. "Would you like a cup?"

"Umm," Severus hesitated, "No thank you."

The man shrugged and took another sip of tea. "Very well, suit yourself. Now where were we?" He paused in thought.

"How you knew my name…" Severus trailed off.

"Oh yes. Well that will all be answered in due time, not to worry. But for now let us focus on the situation at hand, hmmm? I've made it a habit to watch the comings and goings of man, and throughout the years, I still find it amazing how dense you humans can be at times. Really Severus. This is the second time you've tried to kill yourself in the last five months, and the second time you've failed to do so. Surely there is something you can infer from this?"

Severus gaped at him, for once in his life utterly dumbfounded. "B-but…what…how did you know?"

"I know many things about you. I've been watching you for several of your months."

The boy stared at Xavier in confusion. "Watching me? Oh great, now I've got a stalker." He cocked his head to the side. "Did you just say _human_ before?"

Xavier sighed and gave a slight groan, "Yes, I did."

"Oh gee, even better, I've had an inhuman stalker watching my every move," Severus said sarcastically. "This day is just getting better and better." He narrowed his eyes and absently started to tap the arms of the chair. This meeting was growing more peculiar and unsettling each moment. Severus did not like people who unsettled him; in fact, he tried his best to shy away from people who did (except for Lily, though that was, of course, completely different). But he had a feeling he would not be able to run away from this particular conversation. "So, why _have_ you been watching me anyways? You aren't a vampire are you?" He asked, suspicion rising in his thoughts. "I may wish to die, but I have no desire to remain among the living afterwards."

Xavier sighed and set down his cup of tea in midair, rubbing his temples lightly. "I should have known he would have made this difficult," he muttered softly, more to himself than to Severus. "To set things straight, no, I am not a vampire, though I am what you would call an immortal of sorts. Also, I have no desire or whim to kill you, quite the opposite in fact.

"Were you the one who healed me then?" It would make sense if the man (or whatever he was) had, in Severus' mind at least. Though he couldn't say if he should have felt relieved to realize that Xavier was _not_ a vampire or worried over the possibility that he was something far worse.

"No, I arrived too late for that I'm afraid. The Heart of the forest healed you. I simply cleaned up the bloody mess you created."

"The what?"

"The silver tree there."

Severus looked to where he pointed. It was the same tree that he had sat beneath earlier this morning. "But how could a tree do that?" he asked.

"Particular things, trees; this one especially," Xavier commented, "You never can predict what they will do. They have the oddest sense of humor and pride as well…. I wouldn't say such things in front of her, she might become offended."

The tree might become _offended_? Oh Lord, Severus had been out longer than he thought. "Sorry," he offered to the tree (just in case), "But _why_ would it, I mean she, heal me?"

"Because it was not your time to die, whatever you may like to think."

"Not my time to die," Severus repeated incredulously. What the heck was this guy talking about?

"Life is a delicate balance, Severus and it is part of my job to ensure the preservation of that balance; which is why I am here. Too long I have sat along the sidelines and watched everything play out, so against my better judgment I am doing something I haven't done in nigh a millennia. I am intervening in wizarding affairs and _damn_ the consequences. You, Severus, need some sense knocked into you and I shall do it any way I can. Dumbledore has been too coddling with you, in hopes you will be able to rise above this depressive state on your own. But you haven't. Instead you've done the opposite and sunken further into your hole, rejecting your society altogether. You've simply given up, taken the easy road instead of fighting to continue, fighting for a better life. It is a coward who gives up on life so, and you have been acting like one. You have a long life in front of you, though not everything will be easy; life never is I'm afraid. But there will be many good things as well," Xavier sighed.

"Much is dependent on you and many lives lie at stake based on your decisions now and in the future. Though that is all I can reveal to you at this time. Destiny and Fate would strangle me if I told much more, they're angry enough with me meddling as it is."

Severus looked at the grass surrounding them, suddenly finding it very interesting. He didn't think he had the courage to look Xavier in the eye at the moment and still hold on to what little composure he had left.

"Your actions of late have been tipping that balance I spoke of close to disaster," Xavier continued. "Now, please look at me Severus, surely the ground isn't _that_ interesting. I want to see that you understand what I have to say. Your mother was an amazing woman and I understand you miss her very much. But surely she wouldn't have wanted you to be like this, would she?"

"No," Severus said in realization, "She'd give me a good shake and tell me to stop acting like the world had stopped turning. To keep my chin up and never quit…. But it all seems so hopeless."

"It will get better."

Severus gave an un-Slytherinlike snort. "And how do you know, oh immortal one?"

"I've had just about as much of your 'rapier wit' as I can stand for a day." Xavier gave Severus a glare and picked up his tea from mid air. "Life does go on, whether or not you want to hear it, and it will get better. You have almost four and a half years left at Hogwarts and friends who care deeply for you."

"It's not Hogwarts I'm worried about," Severus muttered. He loved Hogwarts; it was a second and now his only home. Summer, however, was another story. He didn't have any close relatives on either side of the family, only great great aunts and fifth and sixth cousins who had kept giving him the most terribly pitying looks at the funeral while shaking their heads about the tragedy of his mother's death. The thought of having to stay with one of them left him feeling very depressed. No, he did not have any good prospects for the summer holiday and the alternative was even worse. An orphanage. Not that Severus believed that Dumbledore would actually let the Ministry send him to one….at least, he hoped not. "I don't have anywhere to go…. For the summer holidays and breaks."

"Ah, I see," Xavier replied calmly after a sip of his tea, "Well we shall have to do something won't we?" He paused and set his tea once again in the air, and leaned forward towards Severus' chair. "I have a proposition for you. If I said I could find you a place to stay for your holidays, would you promise to never try and end your life again?"

Severus didn't believe his ears. Might there actually be another alternative? "Where would I stay?" He questioned.

"Why with me of course."

Severus blinked. "With you. How? Your not my relative… the Ministry would never let me stay with someone who wasn't."

"What they don't know won't hurt them. Your wouldn't have to worry about the proof, I would take care of that. My connections are many."

There had to be some kind of catch. There was always a catch. "So you're saying, all I have to do is swear to not take my life and you will take me out of the Ministry's grasp?"

"Yes."

No catch? Severus wondered. "Surely there is something in it for you?"

"Besides my peace of mind and the balance realigning itself, none but the pleasure of your company."

Severus thought about it for a while. On one hand he really wasn't sure what this Xavier was like… or even was for that matter, but on the other, he'd be free of the Ministry's manipulations and would be far more independent with Xavier than under the Ministry's care. He wasn't much of one to take risks…. But maybe… just maybe this was one worth taking.

"All right." Severus gave a small nod. "I'll do it. I swear I will no longer try to take my life."

"And I will fulfill my part of the bargain and make the necessary arrangements as soon as I take you back to Hogwarts." Xavier stood; a smile on his face as he banished his chair. "Good now that that's over with, we can be on our way. Grab my hand; it will only take a moment."

Severus looked up at Xavier in confused. "But it's impossible to apparate on Hogwarts' grounds."

"Not impossible, improbable, but not impossible. It's all about connections, Severus."

Severus stood from his chair and tried to not jump in surprise when his own chair disappeared into thin air. "You know, you never did tell me who you are."

Xavier stopped mid-step towards him. "I'm Death," he said holding out his hand, "It's wonderful to meet you."

Severus stared for a moment, and then shrugged, after everything that had already happened; he didn't think much would faze him. "That explains some things."

"I'm sure."

Severus cocked his head to the side in question. "Did you always have that job or was it something you volunteered for?"

The pair clasped hands and Severus took one last look at the clearing.

"No, it all started when I was late to a meeting…"

* * *

Like it? Hate it? Love it? Drop me a lineand tell me what you think about what I've written…This story is a continual work in progress and I always strive to make it better…plus I do love hearing what you have to say! …Constructive criticism, etc is appreciated and very helpful 

If you have any questions, be sure to leave an e-mail address where I can reach you to answer them…

**_Thank you many times over to you Ashley (aka BornConfuzed), wonderful beta that you are. This chapter wouldn't have been what it is without you..._**

**_-A word from the author:_**

I apologize for such a long gap between updates. To me this chapter was very important and I wanted to make sure I got it right. It went through several drafts (Ashley can attest to that) much to my chagrin, but I feel much better about it now. So I hoped you enjoyed this long awaited (and much overdue) interlude chapter.

* * *

Thank you to all my reviewers and everyone else who took the time to read my story. 

**Night-Owl123, lmill123, starangel2106, Crissy Potter, eye11, creative reader, fugato akuma-tenshi01, Bunny Dee, Artemis-chan of Redwing, readsWAYTOOMUCH, Shadowface, magiquill, Zharaia, Nemi Jade, Chibi-NarutoKawaii, gaul1, Firehedgehog, RosaChinensis, insanechildfanfic, Nicol, Shadowed Rains, The Angsty Gothic Angel, Lachwen, Silver Scale Serpent, samsamsghjh, Scorpion Snake. **

**debz**** – **I'm willing to look over what you've written, though I can't promise anything. I'm rather really with school, work, and the looming SAT and ACT, but I'll see what I can do. I apologize for not getting in touch with you earlier, but when I tried to contact you through the e-mail you left, it was unable to go through (some error with the email.

**HecateDeMort**** – **Harry will be saying at Hogwarts 'til around Christmas time. It really depends on how long the Quarter Millennial Immortal Council and Conference lasts or how long Death can actually stand it.

**HellHound**** –** We'll see….

**Kaaera** – _Smiles…_You're going to have to wait until next chapter for Harry to come to Sev's rescue…

**athenakitty – **McGonagall was surprised simply because time for her has gone by so fast… she can't believe that she's been teaching that long when it doesn't feel like such a long time to her.

**Padawan Jan-AQ** – Don't worry. Severus is fine… he just can't hold liquor worth anything, other than a massive hangover he'll live.

**EVIL MONKEY OF DOOM! – **I believe this chapter answered your question. Thanks for your comments.

**t.a.g.0 – **Hmm… _pulls out the dictionary_… I'd have to say you're right. I'll have to change that. Thank you.

**JE aka Yessina –** Wow. Thanks. I like Peeves a lot, so he'll definitely show up from time to time. And Sev joined to DE for reasons totally separate from his parents.

**Mehetabelo** – Thank you for adding me, I appreciate it.

**My Tainted Perfection** – I liked the prank as well.

**haven**** got my thingy yet** – wow, thank you.

**Potions and Snitches** – Thanks for adding me.

**BalrogsBreath** – _blushes_… wow, thank you so much.

**The-Ever-Lazy-One** – Well, I still haven't decided where Harry will be sorted, it's a hard decision for me so we'll see. But Sirius should be in eventually, though not until much, much later.


	13. Explorations and Encounters

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Harry Potter in any way, shape, or form, nor am I making any money from this story. I do, however, own the plot and any characters that appear in the story that are not apart of the original series.

**A Different Reality**

By Constellations

- Explorations and Encounters -

舵3

* * *

When Harry rose the next morning, he immediately sensed something was wrong. Thinking about it for a moment, he realized it was quiet, too quiet. While never a morning person, his godfather was always up at precisely seven o'clock to prepare for the day. The familiar sounds of clinking vials, simmering cauldrons, and scratching quills failed to greet him as he left his bedroom and headed into the hallway. Harry didn't bother to check the larger bedroom. He headed straight to his godfather's private workroom and lab. Sev was a man of habit, and the thought of brewing challenging potions and conducting new experiments always drew him to his lab in the mornings.

Walking in Harry frowned. The lab looked exactly as it had the night before, the cauldrons were neatly stacked in the corner and all ingredients were packed away on their respective shelves. Sev hadn't touched it at all. _How odd_. Harry though to himself as he headed back towards his room. _Maybe he had a meeting, though I don't remember him saying anything yesterday. _Changing quickly into a set of robes, Harry slipped on his shoes and walked down the hall. He had been meaning to explore the higher levels of the castle today anyways. He'd simply come to check back after he'd satisfied his curiosity of the towers. And maybe after lunch he would stop and visit Hagrid. The half giant had mentioned several days before about getting a new dog and had seemed very excited at the prospect.

Giving a cheerful greeting to his parents' portrait, Harry headed out to the parlor which Sev, having few visitors, had converted into an unofficial office. When he entered, Harry could barely stifle the laugh which threatened to break free at the sight before him. He had grown up listening to the infamous tales of his godfather's drunken exploits, and although the incidents were few and far between, the situations that Sev had gotten himself in were always hilarious. It was a well known truth in Death's household that Severus Snape could not hold his liquor, and his dad loved to tell those embarrassing stories whenever Sev visited. However, Harry did have a feeling some were a bit exaggerated.

Tiptoeing towards the large chair, Harry grinned in amusement at his godfather's slouched position and the drool that threatened to fall from the corner of his mouth. It was rare sight to see. Taking the empty bourbon bottle and glass from Severus' hands, Harry placed them carefully on his godfather's desk, wrinkling his nose at the smell of the alcohol. After searching through Sev's emergency stash of potions, hidden in a secret panel, Harry found what he was looking for. Gently, he placed what he assumed to be a hangover draught on an end table beside the chair. His godfather's tiny scrawl was infamous at school for being impossible to read, and the few students who were able to decipher it were highly commended for their achievement.

Shaking his head once more at the sight and wishing he could conjure a camera, Harry took out a sheet of parchment and a quill from the desk drawer to write a note explaining he would be gone. Severus was a surprisingly heavy sleeper, no matter what students' believed, and when he was in such a drunken state it was better to let him sleep it off. Harry doubted that even the whole of Hogwarts collapsing to ruins would wake him now.

The note finished and signed, Harry left through the portrait hole and headed out into the lower dungeons. The higher levels of the castle would have to wait until later. He had more pressing business at the moment.

* * *

After becoming hopelessly lost, Harry had made it a point in the following weeks after meeting Peeves to learn the dungeons backwards and forwards. In the depths of the castle, few portraits graced the walls, which made it difficult if one did lose their way. Harry had to wonder if this was on purpose.

By now he was proficient enough to maneuver his way throughout the dark maze of corridors, dead ends, and deserted rooms that encompassed the dungeons with little mishap. It had been necessary to learn quickly, after all, the dungeons were where he spent most of his time. The rest of the castle, however, was another matter. While he knew several paths to the Great Hall and had followed several of the staff around the school, he was still unfamiliar with the lay out of the floors above ground. Harry had hoped to be accustomed with the school by the time students would be arriving in the next fortnight. However, circumstances had made him unable to explore the higher reaches of the castle.

This was something he was beginning to regret…. a lot.

Harry wanted very badly to hurt whoever had had the brilliant idea to charm the staircases. They were one of the few things at Hogwarts that he'd had trouble adjusting to. Why would anyone _want_ moving staircases in the first place? They were frustrating and very inconvenient. And they always happened to move at the worst times. It was after such a staircase had switched positions (that he'd happened to be climbing at the time) on him, that he'd resorted to asking a portrait for directions. And while portraits are generally nice about the whole thing, Harry had found out that asking them for directions was not always the brightest thing to do. For, inevitably, when you ask a portrait for directions, the surrounding portraits will want to put in their 'two cents' as well. This leads (as he discovered) to a great deal of confusion, since they often give contradictory information and like to make directions as complicated as possible. So after finally making sense of the directions, which included several of the portraits' life stories mixed in, Harry headed off in (what he hoped was) the right direction.

* * *

Harry stood in front of the statue and frowned. After his dealings with the portraits, he'd had little mishap in reaching Dumbledore's office (even though the directions had been a little off). And although that challenge had been met, a new problem had promptly arisen.

Dumbledore had changed the password.

He'd gotten the last three weeks of passwords from Peeves, who'd agreed with mischievous glee to listen in on any visitors who happened to pay a visit to the Headmaster. Harry was sure he could've drawn them out of Sev, somehow, but that would have sparked his godfather's curiosity and suspicion. This way had been much more appealing. But, it did have its drawbacks. _Dumbledore must've just changed it last night. I wonder why he changed it so early. He usually keeps them longer than two days. _

Harry glared at the gargoyle, which almost looked as if it was smirking at him. _Stupid statue. _The boy sighed and turned away, only to walk into a bright swirl of purple and silver.

A voice chuckled pleasantly and the figure adjusted its half moon glasses. "Well hello, Harry my boy, what has you up and about so early?"

Startled Harry took a step back and looked up at Dumbledore with a small smile on his face. Even though he had seen the Headmaster before in the Great Hall for meals and initially after he'd arrived at the castle, this was the first time Harry had seen the man up close. "Actually, I was waiting for you sir."

Dumbledore's eyes twinkled with his familiar mischief. "Oh?"

"Yes, sir," Harry said, "It's about Severus."

Dumbledore grew serious, "Hmm, why don't we step into my office and then you can tell me all about what he's gotten himself into now." He gestured towards the gargoyle, "Shall we?" The passageway opened at a wave of Dumbledore's hand. Harry nodded and followed him up the spiral stairs, all the while wondering how Dumbledore had managed to do that.

The inside of Dumbledore's office was a pleasant surprise to Harry. He'd pictured a small room with a more prestigious air about it, bookshelves lining the walls; stuffed with old dusty books, musty and yellowed from age. And perhaps a huge desk and a plush, high backed chair to match. Instead, he discovered an airy and spacious set of rooms, crammed with artifacts and personalized with various knick knacks and souvenirs that belonged to the current Headmaster. Dumbledore's touch was evident in the room, from the bright draperies hung from the large windows, framing the picturesque scene of the Hogwarts grounds to the intricately carved perch where Fawkes was currently sitting, staring curiously at Harry.

Dumbledore sat down behind his desk and began rummaging in the drawers. He smiled and pulled out a small silver tin. "Would you like a lemon drop Harry? I'm quite fond of them myself."

Harry eyed the tin filled with the small sunny yellow candies and shrugged. "Sure."

Though Harry hadn't thought it was possible, Dumbledore's eyes grew brighter upon hearing his answer and happily extended the tin to Harry before he reached for a candy himself. Harry's face contorted as the candy's sweet, yet sour favor filled his mouth.

The pair quickly finished off their lemon drops, while talking about such pleasant things as the weather and the lack of decent pairs of socks.

When they were finished, Dumbledore asked the house elves to serve breakfast in his office. Having not eaten since dinner the night before, Harry helped himself to toast with a large amount of strawberry jam, a steaming bowl of oatmeal, and a glass of pumpkin juice. While he ate, Harry told the Headmaster about Severus' predicament. Dumbledore simply gave Harry a small smile as the boy told his story and shook his head.

"Well, I'm sure he'll be incredibly disappointed to miss today's staff meeting, we were going to be discussing the holiday ball."

Harry snickered softly behind his glass of juice. His godfather would be anything but…though, he couldn't really tell for sure if Dumbledore was being sarcastic or not. He was a hard person to read.

"Hmm," Dumbledore murmured, "I suppose I have to save the ball for tomorrow, we wouldn't want Severus to miss out on all the fun after all."

Both chuckled at the thought. Severus hated dances with a frightening passion, and it was a vindictive pleasure of his to try and deduct as many points as possible off unsuspecting victims (students had quickly discovered that the central gardens while quite beautiful and picturesque, were not good places to conduct a romantic rendezvous; especially if they wished their respective houses to stay in the running for the House Cup).

They chatted a bit longer while Harry finished his breakfast. Dumbledore agreed to check on Severus later in the afternoon if he failed to turn up at lunch and Harry thanked him heartily. Relieved that he no longer had to worry about his godfather, Harry left the office with a lighter step. Now he finally had a chance to explore the towers.

* * *

It was only after Harry combed the higher reaches of the castle to his satisfaction, finding several secret passages and rooms that he decided to come down to the Great Hall. By then lunch was already over but Harry, exhilarated from exploring, was not very hungry.

The rest of the afternoon Harry spent out around the grounds, wandering through the various gardens and paths that lead around the castle, twisting and twining together.

As the sun began its descent in the sky and dinner approached, Harry bolted towards the Great Hall from across the lawn where he'd been watching the Whomping Willow, eager to sate his hunger with the wonderful array of foods that the house elves made each day.

Absentmindedly humming a tune, Harry slowed as he approached the entryway of the Great Hall. Seeing the table already laden with food, he happily plopped down into a chair. Scooping a large portion of mashed potatoes, cooked vegetables, and roast beef onto his plate Harry glanced at the door as many of the professors filtered into the Hall. Catching a flash of bright red hair and black leather at the entryway, the boy smiled and waved as Bill sauntered over and sat down across from Harry.

The red-head smiled. "Hey."

"Hi Bill."

"What've you been up to today?"

Harry gave Bill an innocent look. "Nothing."

"Mm Hmm. Now why do I find that hard to believe? Where did you go anyway? I didn't see you today at breakfast _or_ lunch."

Harry poured himself a glass of milk from a brimming pitcher. "Well this morning I bumped into Dumbledore and I think he noticed how hungry I was and asked the house elves to serve breakfast."

Bill's eyebrows shot up in surprise but he didn't interrupt. "After that I finally got to explore the towers," Harry continued excitedly, "I found lots of cool hiding places. I didn't come down until after lunch was finished."

"Ah, remind me sometime to show you where the kitchens are, you really shouldn't miss meals like that."

Harry grinned. "I know, but I'm making up for it."

Bill rolled his eyes and started on his bowl of soup.

Harry was halfway through his plate when Severus finally stalked into the Hall, a thunderous expression on his face. All gossip among the staff came to halt as one by one they looked towards the door. Dumbledore smiled and gave Severus a small wave, his eyes twinkling brightly. Minerva McGonagall sat slightly stunned, but quickly shook it off and looked at him with concern. Bill froze momentarily, his spoon halfway to his mouth at the potion master's rumpled state. "Oh my." Harry snickered softly behind his hand. Bills statement summed everything up quite nicely.

Wearing his green robe and slippers from the night before, with dark circles under his eyes and in need of a shave, Severus was certainly a sight to see. Harry doubted any of the staff, except perhaps Dumbledore, had seen the man in such an unkempt state before. However, as shocking as that was, it was not the reason everyone was staring.

Severus glared as his fellow staff. "Well," he growled, "What are you all staring at?"

The other professors took the not so subtle hint and everyone quickly focused back on their meal and the latest round of scandalous gossip about the Wizarding World.

Reaching the table, Severus roughly pulled back a chair and sat down in a dignified huff at his usual spot at the end of the table next to Bill. The red-head was the first to speak while Severus shakily poured himself a cup of tea. "Well, um, I like the change in pace. The new look is uhh, unique. Blue never looked so…so blue." Bill's half-hearted smile melted away under the intensity of Severus' gaze.

Harry shot the red-head a look. "Oh, good one Bill, that _really_ helped."

"Shut up."

"So, do you plan on keeping it that way Sev?" asked Harry. "I am kinda surprised you did it."

Severus glared at his tea bag and he dunked it in the hot water, "I'm not in the mood for this Harry."

Harry frowned, "Why are you so grouchy anyways? I thought the hangover potion would've worked by now."

Bill turned towards Severus, "You were drinking?"

"Sloshed," Harry piped in.

"Really?"

"Yeah."

"I am present you know. And as an adult, it is perfectly legal for me to consume alcohol. Why on earth do you find the thought so scandalous?"

Bill shrugged, "I didn't think you were the type to let yourself go that far."

"Oh, and I assume that a perfect Gryffindor such as yourself has never been intoxicated." Severus retorted as he took a sip of his tea.

Sensing the impending outburst, Harry quickly diverted his godfather's attention. "So, the hangover potion didn't work?"

Severus looked across the table. "No… it did not work. That vial contained a hair dye, not a cure for hangovers."

Harry looked down at his plate. "I'm sorry. I really did think it was one. I was only trying to help."

His godfather sighed and the tension between the three slowly ebbed, "I know, and I apologize as well. Right now my head feels like it was squashed by a basilisk, and I'm not in the best of moods."

"You might want to re-label some of the vials," Harry ventured, "most people have a hard time reading your writing."

Severus gave Harry a glare in mock-anger. "My writing isn't that bad."

Bill laughed, "No it's appalling."

"Dumbledore can read it perfectly well." Severus said in defense.

"I also heard he uses a charm," Harry said mischievously, "You should try the roast beef. It's really good." He mentioned as Severus reached to fill his plate. Harry shoved his clean plate across the table. "Can I have dessert now? I finished everything."

Severus looked at him suspiciously. "Did you eat your vegetables?"

Harry grimaced, "Yeah, and they were nasty."

"You didn't slip them under the table or into your napkin?"

Harry glanced at Bill. The red-head winked at him and smiled. "I can vouch for him; he ate them, every single one."

Severus nodded. "Fine, then you can have dessert."

Harry smiled and slid his napkin into his robe pocket to be emptied later.

* * *

The time slipped past like sand through an hourglass as Harry continued his exploration of the castle. It was several days later, a week before students would be returning to Hogwarts, that Severus received a letter.

Harry had been outside at Hagrid's Hut waiting to meet the giant's latest pet. Eyeing the large three headed dog (which looked like an oversized black lab) with trepidation, he slowly edged away.

Hagrid chuckled and gave Harry a reassuring smile. "Don't you worry there Harry, he's just a pup. Wouldn't hurt a soul. Fluffy's playin' that's all."

The boy looked up at Hagrid, disbelief evident on his face. The "pup", only four months old, was already six feet high and was happily clomping back towards the odd pair with a large branch between his teeth, its other two heads chomping on the ends. Harry looked from the overgrown mutt to Hagrid.

"Fluffy?"

Of all the names he could think to give the… animal before him… that was not one of them.

"Yep," Hagrid said proudly, "Ain't he a cute little feller?"

"Yeah…" Harry laughed uneasily as Fluffy careened back towards them, barely stopping in time. The dog dropped the stick at Hagrid's feet and the giant happily threw the stick back across the clearing. Tongue flopping out in the air, Fluffy bounded off with a loud bark. Harry looked at the wide grin on Hagrid's face and shook his head. The giant certainly loved his new pet.

Looking back at the castle he noticed a tall figure walking briskly down the lawn, robes flaring out behind him. Forgetting about Fluffy, Harry skipped over to where Severus had stopped on the grass. It must be important if his godfather had chosen to find him now (Severus made a point of staying off the grounds during midday, he burned very easily) instead of later on in the afternoon.

The sun shone through breaks in the clouds and a light breeze blew across the grounds from the east. The trees and flowers were in full bloom coloring the grounds in hues of lilac, indigo, yellow, pink, and crimson. Against the bright background, the potions master with his pale skin and black robes seemed horribly out of place, a spot of winter on a warm summer's day.

"What is it?" Harry asked, slightly out of breath.

"I received a letter from an old friend of mine, Narcissa. We attended Hogwarts together." Harry simply stared and waited to see where this was going. "She will be coming today before dinner and may stay over night at the castle. We have may things to discuss."

Harry kicked at the grass. "Oh, so you want me to behave."

"Well, I certainly hope you do. You'll want to make a good impression with her son."

Harry brightened and eagerly asked his age. "He'll be attending Hogwarts the same year you will be, if that's what you wanted to know."

The boy grinned and jumped into the air. "Yes."

Severus raised a brow at his godson's antics and smiled. "So what's his name?"

"Draco, named after his great grandfather Draconis, I believe."

"And they'll be coming today?"

"Yes, and Harry," Severus added before the boy rushed off to the castle. "No pranks. I want the boy intact when they leave."

The mischievous glint in Harry's eyes dulled for a moment before coming back to life. "Alright."

* * *

Harry peeked from behind a suit of armor near the entrance to the Great Hall and watched the blonde boy curiously. From what he'd seen so far, the boy was as stiff and aloof as he'd heard many purebloods were. In freshly pressed robes without a wrinkle or line, his hair slicked back, and an emotionless stare Draco Malfoy was the epitome of statue. His hopes deflated, Harry sighed in disappointment. It would have been nice to have someone his age to play with for a change.

The thought quickly left him and he shrugged. At least he'd still have his fun. He might've promised not to prank the boy, but that didn't mean Peeves couldn't. His godfather hadn't said a word about that. Not that Severus knew about their partnership…. But what he didn't know wouldn't hurt him.

The blonde turned away from his mother and swept his eyes around the hallway before the Hall. He seemed bored. His mother, a tall thin woman with similar white blonde hair and a graceful poise, politely greeted Severus as he walked in from the Great Hall.

As he approached, he gave a curt nod and lightly kissed Narcissa's outstretched hand. "It is a pleasure to see you again."

She gave him a small smile, breaking her smooth mask. "The pleasure is mine. It has been far too long Severus. You should come over for tea."

"Perhaps."

Narcissa gave him a knowing look and put her hand on her son's shoulder, pulling him in front. "You know my son, Draco."

Draco remained silent and stared at Severus, curiosity evident in his features.

Severus smirked, "Yes, indeed." His gaze shifted from the pair and Harry leaned farther into the shadows as his godfather settled on the suit of armor. He turned back to Narcissa. "Shall we head to my quarters? The house elves can draw up tea while we are there; there is much to catch up on." She glanced in silent question at Draco. Severus winked and looked again at the suit of armor. Narcissa seemed to catch on because she too looked straight where Harry was hiding.

"My godson will turn up soon I imagine," Severus continued. Harry scowled, angry that he had given him away. There was no point in hiding now, though he refused to reveal himself until after the adults chose to leave. "Perhaps Draco should wait in the Great Hall. I believe the ceiling will be of interest to him."

Narcissa nodded at Draco and the boy headed into the Hall after hesitating for a moment.

As the adults began to walk away, Severus look back at the armor one last time and added, "I'm sure Draco would enjoy a small tour of the castle. Don't even think about leaving him alone."

When their footsteps on the stone floor faded, Harry slipped out from behind the suit of armor and slowly crossed the corridor into the Great Hall. Draco was looking up at the enchanted ceiling in awe, the cool mask of indifference melting from his face. Harry narrowed his eyes then smiled. Maybe this boy wouldn't be as boring as he seemed.

And maybe, just maybe, he wouldn't call Peeves after all.

* * *

Like it? Hate it? Love it? I'll admit…I crave feedback. So drop me a lineand tell me what you think about what I've written…This story is a continual work in progress and I always strive to make it better…plus I do love hearing what you have to say! …Constructive criticism, etc is appreciated and very helpful

If you have any questions, be sure to leave an e-mail address where I can reach you to answer them…

**_As always I have my beta, Ashley to thank for helping edit!_**

**_--A word from the author:_**

Due to "technical difficulties" with my beta's computer and studying for finals, I wasn't able to get this chapter out soon as I wanted to. But oh well, such is life.

Only a little bit longer until summer break and I can't wait. My mind's already checked out for vacation. But over the summer I should have more free time on my hands, which _hopefully_ means more writing, faster updates, etc…

* * *

Thank you to all my reviewers and everyone else who took the time to read my story.

**HecateDeMort, starangel2106, borne-shadow-childe, Kaaera, gaul1, Night-Owl123, bahjcb, Alaranth-88, Chantale-of-da-last-generation, Shadow101, Heather, destiny a. rose, Primavera-Tiempo, Silver Scale Serpent, Lady Jillyan Malfoy-Potter, Agar, clara200, Anarual, person, Fornax, Altariel Eldalote, The Lady Reaper of the Shadows, XyBulmaXy, schmanski, angelkitty77, summonfire, Thoroughly Blue, Phisper, CheddarTrek, takuto-kun, Sarah R Potter. **

**The-Ever-Lazy-One – **Well, not as soon as I'd hoped, but a lot faster than last time…Thank you for your patience and understanding. I hope you enjoyed his chapter.

**liza123 – **He will be friends with Ron and Hermione, though probably not as close as the original… as for Draco, well I honestly haven't decided.

**obsidian-fox – **Yes, Severus is Harry's godfather and if you read further chapters I believe they will answer your comment.

**SilverTrinity – **Wow, thank you. Thank you for your opinion on the Sorting as well, I can tell you took some time to think about it.

**Switchfootlover & Geminia – **James and Lily each decided to choose their best friend for Harry's godfather so they went with both instead of a godfather and a godmother.

**japanese-jew –** I've read a story or two from the series, but this story is not a cross over.

**ak-alterego – **Harry is nine and he really hasn't had much tutoring or will in the future to tell the truth, that's what he will be attending Hogwarts for. He's not going to be way ahead of his classmates first year. Neither Death nor Severus would want it that way.

**Chaos-Empersonified – **I love the quote…

**Katerine-M –** Thanks for your extremely long review and your opinion on the Sorting. That's the longest I've had yet. I'm glad you like the story.

**Brittany**** – **I don't get tired of them. Kudos to you for finding errors that neither Ashley nor I were able to spot. Thanks!


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